Are you looking for a business to do in 2011 that you will not need to spend money on running the business That does not need daily human supervision That you can start with just N22,000N220,000 and make between N105,000N1,050,000 within 3months Then bee keeping is it.The art and science of rearing bees is called apiculture. Apiculture is well developed in countries like Cuba, Greece, Israel, India and China. In these countries, it is taken as a serious source of high income and employment generation. If apiculture is well developed, in Nigeria it can employ over 10,000 youths in each state of the country. Apart from honey production, there are other products which have both local and export potentials that can be obtained from bee keeping. These products are: Beewax, Royal Jelly, Bee Glue, Bee Bread and Bee Venom.The value of honey Honey consists mostly (± 80%) of sugars that are readily absorbed by the body. It is therefore an extremely suitable food for children, sick people and those who perform heavy manual labour.- It can be used as a sweetener for food and drink.- It can be used to treat superficial wounds and throat complaints.- It is a pleasant-tasting food and an effective medicine.-It has a high economic value and is therefore a good trade commodity.In 1984, world honey exports totaled 270,000 tonnes, of which 60 percent came from the tropics. Prices varied between US$ 0.7 and US$ 2.5 per kg. However, local prices are usually much higher, sometimes even up to 10 times world market prices. In Nigeria, a litre of honey is N2,500.Bees are social insects. They live in a group called colony. A colony of bees is made up of the Queen, the Drones and the Workers. The Queen controls and rules the colony. It has an odour which it uses to communicate with all members of the colony. It lays eggs that become the drones, the workers or another queen. A good queen will lay about 2,5003,000 eggs per day. The Queen is fed by workers, guarded by soldiers and can be killed or abandoned by workers if found to be inefficient in laying eggs.To start your bee keeping business you need the following:Bee hives, hive stand, smoker, bee suit, a pair of jungle boots, a pair of gloves, swarm catchers, brush, baiting materials, bee veil, knife, lighter/match box, hive tool. All these can be obtained from CUAD.Who can be a bee-keeper Anyone can make money from bees. Bee keeping does not require large space, you dont even need to own a land and you dont need to feed your bees. You simply need to buy beehives and place them in a safe place then you are on. Bees depend on flowers. Therefore an area with high flora level will support high honey production. Most of our abandoned lands in our villages or suburbs are suitable locations to place your hives. Your backyard garden is also a suitable location for your hives. The CUAD has packaged a special Starter Pack Hive for beginners: A bee hive with 15,000 bees. You can keep bees as an interesting hobby, or as a main or an extra source of income. More information can be obtained at our last Saturdays monthly training on bee keeping on our demonstration farm.Some basic facts about beesBees from the same hive visit about 225,000 flowers per day. One single bee usually visits between 50 to 1,000 flowers a day, but can visit up to several thousands.Queens will lay almost 2,000 eggs a day at a rate of five or six in minute. Between 175,000 to 200,000eggs are laid per year.The average hive temperature is 93.5degrees.Bee wax production in most hives is about 11/2% to 2% of the total honey yieldHoney bees are the only insects that produce food for humans.Just a single hive contains approximately 40,000 to 45,000 beesDuring honey production periods, a bees life span is about six weeks.Honey bees visit about 2 million flowers to make 1kg of honey.A bee travels an average of 1,600 round trips in order to produce 1ounce of honey: up to 6 miles per trip. To produce two pounds of honey, bees travel a distance equal to four times around the earth.Bees fly at an average speed of 13-15 mph.To be continued next week. Stay blessed.
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