subject: The Major Importance of Beekeeper Supplies [print this page] Using the right beekeeping supplies is very important. Beekeeping is a job which is exposed to some danger of being stung by the bees. Using the right supplies can minimize this. The supplies are used when extracting the honey and when managing and maintaining the bee colonies in a proper manner.
The major aspect of beekeeping is to ensure the beekeeper's safety when dealing with the bees. You can do this in several ways. First is to wear a protective. This is an "astronaut like" clothing that covers the beekeeper's body, especially the beekeeper's face. A beekeeper gear includes a beekeeping suit, a hat, gloves and veil. Even an experienced beekeeper should use a hat and veil to protect his face.
The beekeeping suit is a full length suit made of white non-penetrable material to protect the beekeeper from bee stings and venoms. Even though some beekeepers do not like to use gloves due to its impracticality, but gloves are important in protecting the beekeepers hand. Hands are the vital body parts in doing a beekeeper job
Another way to protect the beekeeper is to calm down the bees by the means of a beekeeping smoker. This is a tool that can produce smoke using various types of fuel such as twine, hessian, burlap, corrugated card-board, pine needles, or rotten wood. Other alternative fuels are compressed cotton and pulped paper.
Smoke will cause the bees to leave the hive, and at the same time it masks the pheromones that are released by the guard bees when they are sensing danger or an intruder. In such condition the beekeeper can use this opportunity to manage the hive in a more safe way.
A beekeeper supplement in the form of sugar syrup is also needed in some instances. While bees are known to possess the capability to feed them selves with enough food, there is still a possibility that they might face bad times where they can starve due to honey shortage. Here then comes the role of a supplement.
A feeder is needed when the beekeeper wants to feed his bees. Different types of feeders are available. During winter time, hive top or a pail or division boards can be made use as an inside feeder. While in summer time, when the bees are very active outside the hive, the use of an entrance feeder is of most appropriate.
The main part of beekeeping is the way you house the bees. The most common way is to bee colonies in artificial hives. To encourage the bees to build honey combs a beekeeper usually uses a wax base. Such way will be very convenient during harvesting. The base is made of thin wax layer with a hexagonal cell pattern those are embossed at both sides. This will also help the bees to perform an easier job in building their honey combs
