Everything You Need to Know About Beekeeping Supplies! Honey is an essential material in people's lives. Since ancient times, around 2100 B.C., honey has been used as a cosmetic, sweetener, or even directly consumed as food. In addition to these uses, honey was also known to be used for healing purposes and brewed to produce mead for drinking. Another interesting fact about honey is that pure honey never expires. If sealed inside airtight containers, it can be preserved indefinitely! Now that the uses of honey are known, it is imperative to know how honey is produced. As taught since school, honey is produced by aptly named honey bees and extracted from their hives for consumption. Interestingly, honey needs no processing and can be consumed directly, and the process of rearing honey bees for production is called apiculture or, more commonly, beekeeping. As with any setup, beekeeping supplies are the most crucial part of the setup. Read below to learn about beekeeping supplies and how they help improve honey quality.
What Makes Up the Beekeeping Supplies? As mentioned above, supplies used in setting up apiculture for commercial or personal use are called beekeeping supplies. Apiculture set up in its most basic form, contains:
Beehive- not natural, but an artificial construct made of wood or plastic.
Food Supplements- ensure optimum growth of the broods and given in addition to their natural feeding cycle.
Hive Stand- elevates the beehive and prevents damping the hive’s bottom.
Hive Bodies- used for brood rearing having large spaces efficient for storing vast quantities of honey.
Hive Tool- used to detach combs from the hives without disturbing the overall integrity of the hive.
Smoker-used to remove aggressive bees.
Bee Brush-used to gently move non-aggressive bees from the comb.