Beekeeping is the process of rearing Honey bees for various products such as Honey, Bee venom, Wax, Bee Propolis, Royal jelly, etc. There are several species that be reared and among those Temperate European bees and Indian Bee are reared most. Honey bee comes under the order Hymenoptera Family Apidae and has class Insecta as like other members of Class Insecta, Honey Bee also having three segmented body i.e. Head, Thorax, and, Abdomen. There are three castes of Honey Bee the Queen lays eggs and the workers performs other tasks related to collection of food and management of hive. Honey Bee provides many products as well as services, most important work they performs is the pollination of many cultivated crops even 80-90 % of pollination is only done by Honey Bee which is having 15-20 times more value as compared to returns from honey and other products, other than this indirect profit bees also provides direct benefits, many products such as Honey, Royal jelly, Venom, etc. which makes the Apiculture more profitable to farmers or beekeepers.
Apart from crop production, horticulture production, and, dairy production, there are other businesses in India to promote agricultural production, which are helpful in promoting the economy of India, one of them is Apiculture, which we can earn millions of rupees by installing from small to big level it also plays an important role in providing employment to the unemployed people. Beekeeping is one such enterprise that is very less costly and can be used by every class of farmers whether they are small or big or landless farmers to increase their income. We can get a variety of products from bees such as honey, beeswax, bee propolis, royal jelly, and bee venom, etc. And by selling them in the market, you can get an income of lakhs. In addition to these, beekeeping also plays an important role in increasing agricultural production and horticulture production, as bees carry out pollination activity in flowers, giving an additional one-fourth increase in crop production.
Economic Importance of Apiculture - Honey bees provided different types of products like-Provide honey, Provides wax, Pollination, Bee Royal jelly, Bee Propolis, and Bee venom.
1. Provides Honey- Honey is a light brown viscous liquid produced by honey bees. Honey is a mixture of sugars such as fructose (38.5%), glucose (31%), sucrose (1.3%), and maltose (7.1%). To produce honey, honey bees suck nectar from flowers with the help of their proboscis and gloss and gather it in the comb. Saliva is also added in minor concentration to the nectar during the sucking process. This collected material is filled into the honey chambers, known as raw honey, and then it is dried with the help of wings so that it can become honey. Honey is a very nutritious food that has medicinal value.
2. Provide Wax - It is secreted by the worker honey bees. Wax is produced by wax glands situated in the ventral side of the abdomen of worker honey bees. This dries up and accumulates above the hive, by which the walls of the hive are made. Honey wax is useful to human life. From this; cream, lipsticks, beauty lotions polish, carbon paper, and various models are prepared.
3. Bee Propolis - Bee Propolis is not primarily secreted from the body of the bee. Propolis is a resinous material of waxy consistency that worker honey bees produce by mixing saliva and bee wax with exudates gathered from tree buds, sap flows, and other botanical sources and water. It is used as a sealant for open spaces in the hive. Bee propolis is used for small gaps while larger spaces are usually filled with beeswax. It is sticky at and above 20°C, while at lower temperatures it becomes hard. We can mainly use bee propolis as a medicine for colds. It increases gynecological treatment and fertility in women.
4. Bee venom - Bee venom is a colorless acidic liquid that is secreted from the acid glands of worker bees. When bee feels threat, she secretes it through a string. It contains inflammatory compounds including enzymes, sugar, minerals, and amino acids. Bee Venom is the most expensive of all bee products. One kilogram of bee venom costs up to Rs. 70 lakh, which is bought by a pharmaceutical company. Bee venom can be the best source of income. Bee venom is used to treat joint pain. Use in Skin therapy. It can be used in the form of pain relief tablets/injections.
Mr. Anand Rao Azad
Assistant Professor,
School of Agriculture,
SAGE University, Bhopal (M.P.)
