One of the lucrative aspects in agriculture is beekeeping because of its softlanding start up, improved crop production and high income generating potentials. Honey bees are insects that produces not just the liquid gold (honey), but also produces other valuable materials like bees wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen and bee venom. Each of these are in demand in many industries. Bees wax is used in making polish, candles, hardeners in cosmetics etc. Royal jelly is a milky colored liquid, highly nutritious and quite expensive. Like royal jelly, bee pollen is also nutritious with high proteins. Bee venom is used in apitherapy and it is known to be effective in treating athritis. Propolis is commonly used as bait in bee hives and resinous glues. Honey has the highest demand among all the products of beekeeping due to its sweetening properties and medicinal use.
Honey bees are common pollinators of some crops because of their high foraging activities. They visit flowers to suck the nectar and collect pollen. This is not done simultaneously by a bee. During this process, they accidentally pollinate the flower by brushing some pollen grains to its stigma. This enable the fruit to emerge thereafter. In North America and Europe, bee keepers are usually contracted by farmers for pollination services and the farmers pays in return.

To start beekeeping, honey bees must be nested in beehives which are structures that mimics their natural nests such as hollows in trees and rock crevices. However, the beekeeper or apiarist or apiarian can manage the beehives for optimum production by performing some operations which is impossible in natural nest. In the natural nests, man destroys the bee colony first to collect the honey and the honey is often contaminated. This activity is not only unhealthy to the ecosystem, it is also a threat to honeybees population. There are different types of beehives to start with beekeeping. In choosing a typical hive, it is best to consider ease in construction, management, cost and nature of bees in the environment. This is the reason i recommend Kenyan Top Bar Hives (KTBH). It is important for one to know different castes of honeybees and how honey is produced first.

Good morning sir... I am following up on the steps...

Timiblanko:
Good morning sir... I am following up on the steps...

Good morning

Castes of the bee colony
The queen and workers are females and the drones
are males. New beekeepers must make it a priority to quickly learn and identify the differences of the castes. It is important to acknowledge that all members of a bee colony rely on each other and cannot survive individually.
The Queen: There is normally only one queen in a colony. She is basically an egg laying machine and can lay more than 1,500 eggs per day during the peak brood rearing season m. She is also the largest member of the colony having a long body and tapered abdomen well designed for backing in to the hexagonal brood cells to lay her eggs. Her tongue is shorter than that of the worker bee and her sting is not barbed.Since the queen mates outside the hive during flight with a number of drones, her female progeny will consist of several sub-families who have different father drones but the same mother queen.
In nature, queens may live up to five or more years.
However, at any time, the colony may rear a new queen to replace one that is declining in egg-laying capability. This declining queen will lay in usually four to six queen cells constructed by the worker bees. Approximately 16 days later, the first fully developed queen that emerges from her cell will immediately attack all the other queen cells by opening the side walls of cells and stinging the occupants.
Nature determines that if another virgin queen has already emerged, then they will fight until one is killed. Several days after emergence, the queen will take orientation flights to familiarise herself with local landmarks. She will then mate with 14 to 24 drones during mating flights taken over the next few days. Semen is stored in the queen’s spermatheca where it remains viable. When mating occurs in poor weather, or very early or late in the season
when the drone population is low, the queen may not have an adequate store of semen and she will be superseded in a very short time.

Most queens in managed hives are generally replaced after two years by the beekeeper because peak egg-laying diminishes after that age. Some beekeepers requeen their colonies annually.
Workers
The worker bee is the most familiar caste to us as she is the bee we see foraging on flowers in our gardens. She has a tapered abdomen and is approximately half the weight of the queen or drone, but she is specifically adapted to her tasks in life. The number of workers in a feral honey bee colony may be around 10,000 individuals, but as high as 60,000, or more, in a productive colony managed by a beekeeper. Workers have a number of roles such as
feeding honey bee larvae, building comb, processing nectar, storing pollen, cleaning cells and the hive, removing dead bees, collecting water, foraging for nectar and pollen, and defending the colony. The worker’s flight is fast, and usually direct to and from the hive. She is capable of carrying heavy loads of pollen or nectar. The tongue of the worker is long
to enable deep penetration of flowers to reach nectar. Her sting is barbed which she uses exceptionally well in defence of the colony.

A worker foraging

Drones
Drones are rectangular in shape, broader and larger than workers and not as long as the queen. The wings are large and almost cover the stumpy abdomen.There are about 400 drones, and often more, in a colony during the main brood rearing season. Although drones don’t forage, their presence in the hive is considered to be good for the well-being of the colony. They are not designed by nature to forage and they make no contribution to the
colony’s food supply. Newly emerged drones are fed by workers for the first few days of their life and older drones feed themselves directly from honey stored in the combs. The role of the drone is to mate with a virgin queen, but he shows no interest in her inside the hive. Instead, mating occurs outside the hive and on the wing. Drones are powerful fliers and have large eyes with approximately 8,000
lenses that helps them to detect queens taking mating flights. The compound eyes almost meet on the top of the head reducing the size of his face. Very few drones mate with a queen and those that do mate, die immediately after mating. Drones are sexually mature approximately 16 days after emergence and live up to ninety days. At times of severe food shortage and during the rainy season
drone brood and adult drones are ejected from the hive. Drones are not normally seen during rainy season,although sometimes the colony will tolerate some if the colony has become queenless prior to the onset of rainy season.

Life-cycle of bee
Development begins with the egg, laid by the queen. The egg hatches into a small larva, which curls into a small ‘c’ shape at the base of the cell. The coiled larva grows quickly and almost fills the cell.The cell is then sealed (capped) with a wax cap by workers.
The larva then spins a cocoon (develops some body structures) on the cell walls. After spinning its cocoon, the larva lies longitudinally on its back
in the cell with its head near the cell opening. This stage is known as the pre-pupal stage. The pupal stage follows in which the larva develops into the fully formed adult. The ready to emerge bee chews the cap around the perimeter of the cell and pushes the cap outwards to open the cell and climbs out. The cap placed on brood cells is porous to allow
movement of air into the cell. The caps on healthy worker cells are slightly convex and those on drone cells are domed or bullet-shaped.

How honey is made:Workers on foraging duty visits flowers of selected plants like apple, cucumber, cashew, citrus, mango, almond, water melon, gmelina, kapok, pumpkin etc to suck their nectar. They return to the hive where the nectar is regurgitated and passed on to other workers and stored in the cells of honey comb. Enzymes are added to the nectar when in the false stomach of foraging worker and during the process of transfer to hasten the conversion of nectar to honey. The nectar stored in honey comb will then be fanned by workers until about 70% of its water is lost to evaporation. Thereafter, the honey formed is capped with beeswax by workers and consumed when needed. They do not store honey for humans but for themselves in case of scarcity of food or swarming.

Great thread

To start beekeeping:It is easy to start beekeeping, the first step is locating a suitable land that is free from noise, over 1 kilometre from settlement, flat terrain and free from flooding. The bee yard could be sited on a farm land but must not be closed to foot path and must be confined. There must be forage ( plants with nectary flowers) within at least, 3km radius. The following materials should be acquired to commence beekeeping;
(1) The Beehive: This is the engine room of beekeeping. It is where the colony of honey bees exists. Beginners are advised to use Kenyan top bar hive whose advantages had been stated. It should be baited by rubbing beeswax or propolis to its internal walls and entrance. The odour from these materials will attract scout bees. The scout bees will invite the bee swarm thereafter. Depending on the scale, the apiarist can acquire more to expand the apiary/bee yard. The remaining hives can be colonised by splitting of colonies or baiting to capture swarm. It is also possible to purchase package bees which are in nuc box and the bees can be transferred to hives. This is a common practice in the western world.
Honey bees dislikes some wood and may not colonise them especially when wet. They release odours or chemicals offensive to the bees.Teak is an example. However, their trees hollow can still be colonised because of unexposed layers. Examples of bee friendly woods in West Africa are gmelina, locust bean, kapok, obeche etc

Note the trapezium shape of the hive body. The base is at angle 115° to the top and less wide. Note the top bars with same size arranged. The bees draw combs from the bars downwards. The number of bars determines the size of hive.

Each top bar width must be 32mm for West African bee hive. The comb drawn from each bar downward is 18mm width and a space between adjacent combs is around 7mm (adding up 18mm+ 7mm + 14mm = 32mm). The 7mm gap on both side of 18mm thick comb is known as bee space and it is vital. The bees moves along this space between adjacent combs. Disobeying this critical dimensions would make hive inspection messy because the bees would link up the bars with honey combs. The length of bars can be 400 - 470mm but must be standardize in case of switching between hives. The bars must cover the hive completely. It is important to supervise the carpenter when cutting top bars from planks. Wood that should be used for cutting top bars must be seasoned otherwise, it would wrap, bend, or shrink depending on the type of wood few days after cutting. A wood like melina is an exception because its bar would retain its size and shape after seasoning.

The bee hive must be covered with water proof materials and placed on a stand. The best stand is iron stand and the four legs can be dipped into spent engine oil container to prevent ants from accessing the hive. Invading ants can force bees to abscond their colony. Bee hives can also be suspended firmly with rope on a tree. It is in the bee keeper interest to place the hive in a position for easy inspection.

The pictures below are 28 bars hives under construction, with bars arranged, with cover and installed on iron stand. Note the entrance for bees. It is a matchbox size and can also be at one side wall bottom.

(2)The Smoker: This is an important equipment that is used to sedate or calm the bees when performing hive operations. It consist of a milo can size container and a nozzle. A bellow is assembled to it to blow air into the container where there is a burning material like dry pawpaw leaves, coconut coir, dry wood pieces etc. Palm fruit chaff is prohibited it will tint the comb and contaminate the honey. The smoke escapes through the nozzle and it's directed to bees when the bellow is pressed. Care must be taken when emptying the smoker after use to avoid bush burning. The beekeeper will not work on bees comfortably without a smoker and the hive area would be excessively rowdy. Below are smoker with bellow operated manually and an electric smoker with electric bellow.

(3) Personal Protective Equipments: These includes; bee hat, bee gloves, overalls and boots. This materials must be worn completeley to avoid bee stings. Effective bee-proof personal protective equipment helps beekeepers, especially beginners, to have confidence when approaching and opening hives. Bees always, sooner or later, find holes in veils and clothing, so it is good idea to repair these before visiting the apiary. Regardless of what others say or think, there is absolutely no need to project the
image of being a hero by being stung. Wear clean, light coloured and smooth clothing. Bees dislike
dark and woolly clothing including felt hats, woolly socks and some types of leather gloves that have a rough surface. Bees can panic and are likely to sting when they are caught in hair and fibres of clothing.Wear clean, light coloured and smooth clothing. Bees dislike a number of odours. Avoid contamination on yourself or your clothing by oil, diesel fuel, dog and horse odours and build-up of excessive perspiration. Don’t use hair spray, deodorants, cream and any other scent materials. YOUR SAFETY FIRST

(4) A Hive tool: A hive tool is necessary to pry up and remove the frames of a langstroth hive. The kenyan top bar hive may not need a hive tool, but a knife instead. A knife may be required to pry open top bars or frames which are usually glued to the hive body by the bees. The knife is also useful for cutting a portion of the comb attached to the hive body, separating to combs joined together and cutting out the honey comb from the top bars during the honey harvest. A knife can perform almost all the functions of the hive tool and the hive tool cannot be used to cut bee combs as neatly as possible.
(5) The bee brush: Bees must sometimes be brushed gently into a container or a hive. A brush with soft hairs is useful for this, buf if the bee keeper can obtain a strong large quil like an ostrich or turkey feather, there is no need to acquire a bee brush

The hive tool, bee brush, cutlass, buckets etc are accessories because one can visit the hive without them. Below is a photo of bee brush and a hive tool

Baiting the hive A beehive must be baited for it to be colonised. However, it is possible for bees to colonise a hive without baiting but it can take a long period. To bait the hive, the following steps must be taken
1) Clean the hive and ensure that it is free from organism that can arrest scout bees and there must be no petroleum coated substance in the internal walls of the hive
2) scrub the internal hive body with unrefined beeswax. The smell attracts scout bees who invites the swarm to their new home. Other attractants are lemon grass oil, fermented locust beans etc but beeswax odour last longer and it's the most efficient.
3) make sure that the hive is covered and the entrance is not too wide, the size of a match box is enough. It must be placed on a stand.
4) apply black engine oil at the base of the hive stand to prevent ants and spiders from accessing the hive. Spiders and ants can arrest and kill scout bees. The oil must not touch the hive because it is an insects repellant, remember that bees are insects too.
5) leave the place and make sure no one is present because African bees avoids human as much as possible.
The hive can be checked a week later, the flight of bees in and out of entrance confirms colonisation.
It is wrong to use honey to bait hives as it will attract ants and foraging bees will only come for it.
It is also important to know that the frequency of swarming varies with seasons. It is most frequent in early dry season - dry season - early wet season. It hardly occurs during harmattan and periods of high rainfall such as june - july in West Africa climate. I had experienced swarm capture the same day an hive was baited.

Where does the bee swarm come from?
The honeybee colony is endowed with an instinct which brings about an increase in the number of colonies from time to time. One colony may produce two or more new colonies a year. When a colony in a nest or hive is too populous, the old queen, accompanied by some drones and thousands of young and old workers, flies to a distant place to begin life anew. None of these new settlers will ever return to the old nest. As the bees leave the entrance of the old hive, they fly gyratingly into the sky with a loud hum until they cluster on a tree branch. This cluster is referred to as a swarm of bees.
The swarm hangs there temporarily. Scout bees go and find a hollow tree or any suitable place for the new colony. This place may be a hive installed by a beekeeper. The exploratory team of scouts, if lucky, will return with a favourable report to the swarm still waiting on the branch. The swarm will follow the scouts into the new found home.
The first swarm to leave a hive during the season is called the prime swarm. A prime swarm is always accompanied by the old queen and some older workers. Before leaving the old hive, they take in honey and other essential commodities from the old hive, so that when they settle in the new nest, they can begin to build combs within a short time to enable the queen to lay.
After the prime swarm, any other swarm leaving the parent hive is termed a secondary swarm. It is composed of young workers, young drones and a young queen, completely docile and showing little or no sign of aggressiveness. (They may begin to show some aggressive tendencies after some weeks).

Some common practices in apiary management
When the beekeeper has successfully obtained some bees in his hives, he can look forward to a bumper harvest, but he must remember that success in keeping bees depends on the exercise of his knowledge of colony organization in relation to various factors. It is also controlled or affected by seasonal and climatic changes, not forgetting the existence of vegetation or bee forage in the area. A farmer who plants his crop on fertile land with excellent climatic conditions is bound to fail if he leaves everything to chance, neglecting other important managerial practices such as pest control, bush clearing, pruning, thinning, etc. Beekeeping calls for practices which are vital to the survival and well-being of every bee colony.

How to examine a bee colony
While the experienced beekeeper can usually have a fair idea of how his colonies are progressing by observing them from outside, the only means he has of knowing for sure whether everything is going smoothly is to open the hives and inspect each comb. This will let him know if honey is being prepared and capped regularly, whether the colony is getting ready to swarm, whether the hive has been attacked by pests, etc.

The general rules for hive inspection and for harvesting honey are the same, and therefore they can be discussed together here.

1. Wear protective clothes, and cover the body thoroughly. It is better to have another person check to be sure the bees have no way to reach the skin.

2. Beekeepers should always work in pairs: one operating the smoker and the other working the top-bars and combs.

3. Get a good smoker with a large bellows. The fuel container must be large enough to carry enough fuel to last for the entire operation.

4. Puff some smoke gently around the hive. Then puff continuously through the main entrance for at least three minutes. Wait about one or two minutes for the bees to rush in and gorge themselves with honey.

5. Using the hive tool or knife, pry open the lid of the hive if it has been propolized (top-bar hives have no problem with propolizing). With the top-bar hive, it is important to knock at the top-bars to determine which are without combs; the empty side makes the most noise. (The frame hive does not need to be "knocked".) Using the hive tool or knife, pry up the top-bars from the empty side. Then puff some smoke gently so that the smoke will drive the bees to the other side of the hive. Most bees will gather as far as possible from the first comb.

6. Then remove the first comb and inspect it. If it is a brood comb, look to see that the cells are filled regularly and well sealed, and especially whether the comb contains queen and drone cells as well as worker cells; this is a sign that the colony is preparing to swarm. If it is a honey comb, look to see whether the cells are fully capped (containing ripe honey) or uncapped or partly capped (containing unripe honey). Then replace the comb, even if it is full of ripe honey; it can be removed and taken away later, during honey-harvesting operations, which call for special equipment.

7. Replace the comb, give a puff of smoke, go on to the next comb, and repeat the operation until all the combs have been inspected.
Record-keeping
Good records kept by the beekeeper will help him to follow the general progress of his operation. Two records are particularly important: the colony and operational records.
Colony record
The beekeeper must study the geographical or climatic conditions of his locality in association with his colony's progress, since recorded guide is rarely available. He should study the rainfall and temperature pattern in relation to flowering and the movement of the bees. This will keep him alert as to the swarming season, the best time to split colonies to make them increase or to collect wild bees for hiving, the harvest period, etc. Also to be recorded are the seasonal arrival of pests and seasonal development of diseases, when the wax moth arrives, the seasons for wild ants, beetles, etc.
The beekeeper should keep individual colony records, and always carry a pencil and a notebook. He should record when the hive was colonized, whether the bees moved in voluntarily or if a wild colony was captured. He should weigh the individual hive when it is colonized, and every month (or two weeks) check the weight again to find whether progress has been mad. There is no need to buy a scale for this exercise. Lifting the hive to feel the weight is enough. If the weight has gone down, then action must be taken to bring it to the normal condition. The general progress will assist the apiarist to know the condition of the queen. He should record when the bees carry pollen into the hive, observing them at different times and occasionally estimating the number of bees bringing in pollen. If there are many, this means that the bees are rearing brood and the queen is laying more eggs. If the number decreases, the beekeeper must find out why. If there is a decrease in weight, the bees may have swarmed, or the queen is failing and must be replaced.

Chalks can be used to mark individual records on the top cover of the hive, while general records are kept in a notebook.

Operational record

It is very important to keep a notebook recording information on visits to the apiary site, purchases, labour, transport costs, servicing equipment and all other expenses, as well as income. The material that will be required on the next visit should be listed and then prepared. At the end of the year, the success or failure of the operation should be assessed, and how best to reduce costs and maximize profits should be determined.

When to tell and how honey should be harvested
A colonised beehive must be inspected to know when honey is ready for harvest. The timing of harvest depends on the strength of colony and availability of nectar. It takes some months from colonisation. Before inspecting the hive, the beekeeper should have the smoker ready and in complete overalls. Bees aggressiveness is at its threshold when over 40% of honeycomb is capped, so the apiarist must be prepared. On visiting the hive, heavy fume of smoke must be puffed in through the entrance for some minutes, then the apiarian waits few seconds to allow the bees gorge up honey. This won't allow the workers to be able to sting because they can't bend their honey laden abdomen for stinging. Thereafter, the apiarist lift the hive cover, puff smokes and lift the top bars or frames from the extreme end of the entrance. He should puff smokes and brush the bees gently to check whether the comb is brood comb or honey comb. If it is a brood comb, there will be a large portion with some small white eggs, crescent shape larva, pollen cells and thick capped brood. If it is honey comb, it will be fully capped or partially capped with honey and some pollen occupied cells may be present. The apiarist must take note, whether the brood pattern is regular or scattered, because the young and productive queen have regular laying pattern. Care must be taken when handling top bars to avoid comb break off as it is not supported on all sides unlike frame comb. When about 70% of over 8 from 15 bars/frames is filled with capped honey. The apiarist can cut out the honey comb from top bars/frames with sharp and warm knife or take the honeycomb frames to honey extractor if it is from a langstroth hive . The apiarist should puff smokes throughout the process to calm the bees.
The apiarist should not cut out all honey filled comb because worker bees stored the honey as food for themselves, queen, drones and brood. If this is disobeyed, the bees may abscond the hive. All bars or frames must be replaced and the hive is covered. The smoker must be used throughout the process.

Honey extraction method: After the honey combs have been collected, they should be placed in a container and covered immediately to avoid bees disturbance. Avoid drops of combs or honey to prevent ants invasion. The honey combs are then taken to the honey press which is fabricated like palm oil press, the honey is then collected and filtered with strainer to remove suspended matter. It should be poured to airtight container to avoid it from absorbing water from the air (hygroscopic nature of honey) which makes it less thick or flow more. However, its quality won't be affected. Neatness should be ensured throughout the process. Gloves should be worn on hands. Containers, strainer and packaging materials should be free from dirt. Make a standard package and give it a brand name, this will make the product more attractive in the market.

Beeswax extraction method: Beeswax is extracted from honey comb. When honey is pressed out from honey comb, the residue can be processed to beeswax through the following processes;
1) wash the pressed comb in clean water to remove left over honey.
2) first process may be repeated to improve the purity of the beeswax
3) the washed comb is then transferred to a pot of water and heated gently until all the combs melts. Avoid uncontrolled heat because beeswax is inflammable
4) The pot should be taken away from the heat source and allowed its content should be allowed to cool
5) A cake of beeswax will be formed at the top of water, taking the shape of the container
Step 3-5 can be repeated to improve the purity of beeswax.

Bee stings
Bees are feared not only in Africa but all over the world. They sting painfully, but the tropical bee, in addition, can kill both man and his animals. They need to defend their colony against intruders and stinging is the only way. In the wild, tropical bees avoid humans as much as possible. Even though stings can kill, bees should not be considered as extremely dangerous. The beekeeper who is afraid of his bees is like a lorry driver who will not drive for fear of an accident, or a farmer who will not go to his farm for fear of a snake bite. It is interesting to note that bee stings can treat diseases like arthritis and that bee venom is used as a desensitizer for people who are allergic to stings. Thus a few stings that administer small doses of venom may be helpful. But too much can be dangerous, and people allergic to bee stings should not keep bees. If a few bees stings the apiarist over a long time, reactions will reduce.
If a sting is inserted into the skin, it must be scraped away with the fingernail or a knife or a card. Pulling it out with the thumb and fore finger pressed against it will inject more venom to the body. If the result is itching and swelling, do not rub the spot, as this action will cause greater pain and swelling.
Treat bee stings by applying ice wrapped in soft cloth. In extreme cases, victims should be sent to the hospital. Ephedrine may be administered when a doctor's help cannot be obtained.
Honey bees won't sting during forage and swarming because they are much concerned about their mission.

What causes bees to sting?
- not wearing protective materials like bee hat, bee suit and gloves
- openings in bee wears
- disturbing them without using smoker
- breathing into the hive, especially if the beekeeper has been drinking any alcoholic beverage, including beer
- wearing a cosmetic item
- talking, drumming or making any other noise when bees are busy nearby;
- standing in their flight path;
- wearing dark clothes near the hive during the daytime;
- making jerky movements near the hive;
- crushing a bee near a hive or squashing a bee body and smearing the juice on one's body;
- swatting with the hand to drive a bee away

On the attack
It is safe to work as long as no bees attack. However, the first bee sting attracts others to strike. If the victim stands quietly without moving his body, all other attackers will sting on the same spot as the first strike. Every bee that stings puts more alarm pheromone (a chemical that sends message) on the spot, thus causing more and more bees to strike, and the resulting pain makes the victim swat round and round, causing other attackers to sting other parts of the body. The apiarist should immediately puff off smoke on the sting area if stung to prevent the alarm pheromone from inciting other bees. Massive bee stings is also a loss to the colony because each worker dies shortly after. The stinging action leaves a barb on the skin which rips the stomach of a worker bee as she tries to escape.
Defensive action of honey bees boosts the apiarist confidence on his apiary security.

Profitability of Beekeeping: Consider to start with 5 KTB hives of 27 frames each. At harvest, the quantity of honey varies between 8 - 10 litres. This depends on the strength of colony, harvest timing, season and availability of forage. A litre of original honey is sold at 3000 - 3500 naira. Using 3000, 8 litres (minimum quantity) would give 24000 naira from a single hive. The harvest can be achieved twice in a year, yielding 48000 naira income per unit hive per year. Multiplying 48000 by 5 gives a gross income of 240000 naira. The costs of each hive and beekeeping equipments can be recovered in the first year with a minimum of 5 KTB hives (27 frames). Honey bees are very advantageous because they are the only livestock that does not require feeding and daily attention.

If you are interested in beekeeping, you can call or send whatsapp message to my number 09053639950 Daniel. This is to assist you in acquiring beekeeping equipments and further guidance.

honifome:
Profitability of Beekeeping: Consider to start with 5 KTB hives of 27 frames each. At harvest, the quantity of honey varies between 8 - 10 litres. This depends on the strength of colony, harvest timing, season and availability of forage. A litre of original honey is sold at 3000 - 3500 naira. Using 3000, 8 litres (minimum quantity) would give 24000 naira from a single hive. The harvest can be achieved twice in a year, yielding 48000 naira income per unit hive per year. Multiplying 48000 by 5 gives a gross income of 240000 naira. The costs of each hive and beekeeping equipments can be recovered in the first year with a minimum of 5 KTB hives (27 frames). Honey bees are very advantageous because they are the only livestock that does not require feeding and daily attention.

The figure looks ok, but it depends on management and the amount of nectars available in the area. It may even take more than 9 months or more to get the quantity you have here for a cycle (so two cycles can be even 3 years). And it may take just 3 months (4 cycles in a year). Bro, bee keeping is not a small man's business. People who own huge hectares of land and dedicate it to beekeeping have worked with me. Bro, we cleared bush (many hectares) ooo...and did real agro farming so as to push the yield super high. And harvest is presently on conintuous basis. If your KTB is used, it can give more harvests...but it is frustrating to use it cos the energy and materials used in building the comb can be channeled straight to honey. Like you said, it's for beginners.

Well, I agree yours is on a low level tech. And it's fine. Can still work well.

Still...you have written an acceptable recap for beekeeping.

honifome:
If you are interested in beekeeping, you can call or send whatsapp message to my number 09053639950 Daniel. This is to assist you in acquiring beekeeping equipments and further guidance

Is it only procurement of equipment you do? I can procure whatever I want to use. And we can discuss further on things you can likely get for me.

Do you set up and manage?

Can you get a good location? Or do I have to get? Cos at the present, I do not have any location with good honey yield.

What do you have in place to check theft if you get a location?

Can you guarantee "dependable" people you can recommend to work with you while you supervise and then report to me? (Look at this option very well if you can do it or not).

Let me know. Is it just procurement and guidance you give only? Cos i can guide myself ooo...and I can procure whatever i want to. Let me know what else you can do from the above questions.

Note: If I see something assuring with a solid risk management, I do not mind, I can blast in there 300 or more beehives for startup....but I am not doing KTB. I hope you can work on others. And if you want to climb up steadily starting from the numbers you mentioned above, no wahala...start small and grow within your power...but report to me.

Kindly let me know. Bless you!

Goodluck!