Taking care of bees, or what is simply known as beekeeping can be an interesting hobby. It can even turn into a small business that will benefit not just your family, but your neighbors as well, who may have gardens that need to be pollinated. Beekeeping also makes sure that you get a regular supply of honey, which provides many benefits to the body.
The phrase “busy as a bee” has some truth in it, and you’ll discover this once you study the lifestyle of honey bees. Honey bees are known to be hard workers, working non-stop within their short 35 day lifespan. In fact, their wings can even get damaged by the constant flying from one flower to the next, to gather the nectar that they need for making honey. Honey serves as their reserved food source in times of winter or when it is not easy to get other foods. As a beekeeper, part of your task of taking care of bees is to make sure that your honey bees are well fed. This ensures you, in turn that your honey bees will be producing honey well in excess of what their colony needs. This means more honey for you to harvest, that you an use for your family or even sell for extra income.
There are two types of honey that you can get out of your beekeeping hobby. One is liquid honey, the type that can be extracted using extractor equipment. Another type of honey is what is called as the comb honey. This is the honey that is left in the wax comb and produced by honey bees. Although this type is not really preferred for cooking, most people like to eat this raw for its well known benefits to the human body.
Different Flowers – Different Honey:
Many people do not know that honey can come in different colors and flavors, and they are defined by the kind of flowers that the honey bees visit to obtain the nectar. The quality of soil can also determine the color of the honey. For instance, alfalfa, which is often grown on alkaline dry soil can produce a clearer honey. With honey produced from buckwheat nectar, the color tends to be darker, because this plant needs soil that is more acidic. Even the honey comb can create some variations on the type of honey produced. The honey comb honey is often golden in color, but it can also come in red or even green.
Taking Care of Bees for Profit:
If you plan to get into a honey beekeeping hobby and intend to turn it into a business, check all the federal and state laws that may apply to your area, regarding food products. Check all that you have to comply when it comes to handling, processing, packaging and labeling of honey.
Find out if there are any regulations that apply to managing bees in your area. There may be some restrictions that you would have to comply with.
Consider what marketing techniques will work well with your honey making business. Taking care of bees for profit is just like any other business, where you would have to do some target consumer marketing, and find out where you can sell your honey faster.
Managing bees is a challenging, but fulfilling hobby. If you do decide to turn your honey making hobby into a business, do your research first on how you can turn your honey into cash in order to maximize your revenues.
Source by Shakil Dharshi
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