Great Bee-Musings - Apiaries and Beekeepers

Beekeeping is an old practice. Until sugar became broadly available in the sixteenth century, honey was the chief sweetener used in foods. Different places have been famed in history for their production of honey. In the Bible, the Promised Land of the Israelites was known as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Ancient Greece and Sicily were also significant places for honey production.

Characteristics of Apiaries

A beekeeping establishment is referred to as an apiary. Each colony inside an apiary lives in its own beehive. At one time, bees were maintained in conical hives, known as skeps. To withdraw the honey, the entire colony had to be demolished. A modern beehive is typically a tightly enclosed box with a small entranceway for the bees. The box contains upright frames, any one of which can be removed without upsetting the others.

The frames have a false wax base on which the bees construct honeycombs. Brood cells are assembled upon frames in the lower section of the beehive, called the brood chamber. In the upper part, called the super, the bees stash away their honey. A screen keeps the queen bee from getting into the super to lay eggs, but lets the workers, who are smaller, to get in and fill the cells with honey. This upper segment provides the honey for commercial usage; the combs, once emptied of honey, provide beeswax. A machine called a honey extractor is utilized to withdraw honey from the combs.

Prior to upsetting a hive, a beekeeper blows smoke into it with a device known as a smoker. The smoke lulls the worker bees and makes them a lot less likely to sting. The bees are then moved out from the supers by a device akin to a vacuum.

Honey varies in taste and color according to the blossoms from which the nectar is accumulated. Dutch clover, alfalfa, buckwheat, and fruit trees are sound sources of nectar, and hives are frequently maintained in groves.

Prevalence of Apiaries in the United States

In the United States there are beekeepers - from hobbyists to professional - in every state. The most profitable areas for American honey production are Florida, Texas, California, and the Upper Midwest. An apiary may have additional beehive management aims including queen breeding and mating.