Bee-Keeping In Africa!

Hey everyone, any bee-keepers out there or wannabe bee keepers? What I can tell you is this if ever you have the opportunity to get involved do jump at the opportunity its fantastic..

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So this is site 2... my landlord and partners daughters epic plot, currently we have 7 hives here but up to 20 we have had depending on the season. As it coming into flow now we will bring more hives here soonest and harvest up until April as we did last year!

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In modern American beekeeping, a Langstroth hive is any vertically modular beehive that has the key features of vertically hung frames, a bottom board with entrance for the bees, boxes containing frames for brood and honey (the lowest box for the queen to lay eggs, and boxes above where honey may be stored) and an inner cover and top cap to provide weather protection.[1] In a Langstroth hive, the bees build honeycomb into frames, which can be moved with ease. The frames are designed to prevent bees from attaching honeycombs where they would either connect adjacent frames, or connect frames to the walls of the hive. The movable frames allow the beekeeper to manage the bees in a way which was formerly impossible.

The key innovation responsible for the hive's design was the discovery of bee space, a gap size of between 6–9 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) in which bees would not build comb, nor would they close it with propolis.

Modern Langstroth hives have different dimensions from L. L. Langstroth's beehive that was originally patented in 1852 and manufactured until approximately 1920, but retain the main features of allowing bee space as well as easy access which works well for the bees but also makes management of the beehive easier for the beekeeper.

The standard beehive used in many parts of the world for beekeeping is based on the Langstroth hive. More her as per wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langstroth_hive

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We had a sundowner to start the harvesting off with an epic bang and with this amazing view why not?

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I trust you have happy holidays and may next year bring you only joy and light, be blessed!

Cheer$;)



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5 comments
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So, do beekeepers in Africa have problems with Europeanized Honey Bees?

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Nope I am told we have a problem with capensis bees from the Western Cape but as far as that is concerned also not.. Wax moths hive beetles ants and theft can be an issue though. Cheer$;)

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I have been wanting a hive for ages. We had one on the plot behind us in the hope that a swarm would populate it, but no luck. Need to look into it again.

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Do it if you have free land... and free hoeny nothing beats it.. Get a hive put a drop of lemon grass oil in and in season they will move in on their own. You will need a bee suit too though. Cheer$;)

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Thanks for that advice. May give it a go. We do have a "bee man" in the village...

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