Residues of any kind of drugs or chemical used in the colony may be transfer into wax.
Old brood combs contain wax moth and bee excretions, dirt which might cause contamination of the honey.
Use of pesticides for wax mouth control might contaminate wax and honey.
General Requirementsin Addition of bee frames
General demands on good hygiene.
Treatments should be documented and kept in records.
Recommendations for the industry
No veterinary drugs should be used. They are not prescribed in India for honey bees.
Regular hygiene and health check of brood and honeycombs. Honeycombs should be without impurities and those contained brood are ought to be renewed.
Optimize storage of combs protected from outside contamination or attack by pests.
Use wax/comb foundation (CF) sheets that contain no contaminants.
Control measures for wax moth, nosema spores and other diseases/pests should not contaminate the wax and honey in bee frames.
Bee box and bee frames of standard design should only be used.
Locally available seasoned lightweight wood to be used to prepare hives as per specification of BIS.
Note- Avoid use of unseasoned and heavy wood)
In an Apiary, over-stocking of colonies should be avoided, either by restricting the number of bee colonies to be between 50-100 or by maintaining a distance of 10 feet and 3 feet to be kept row to row and box to box respectively.
Brood chamber should not be nailed to the bottom board except for migrating.
Measures against wax mouth, parasitic mites and nosema should be documented.
Garlic Murabba is a healthy food that has antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties. Although, there is no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic murabba has protected people from Covid-19, it surely helps in boosting immunity.
It strengthens the immune system and may help in minimizing the risk of infection.
A clove of garlic contains a compound Allicin. When chewed the compound turns into Allicin which contains sulphur and the reason for a particular pungent taste and smell. This compound has been shown to boost the disease-fighting response of some types of white blood cells in the body. When they encounter viruses, such as the viruses that cause the common cold, flu or influenza virus they attack and destroy it effectively and quickly.
This compound has been shown to boost the disease-fighting response of some types of white blood cells in the body. When they encounter viruses, such as the viruses that cause the common cold, flu or influenza virus they attack and destroy it effectively and quickly.
Murabba (jam) refers to any sweet fruit preserve which is popular in many regions of Central and South Asia. This Ginger murabba can be preserved for a long term, both as a wet murabba and a dry version as well.
Murabbas are said to have medicinal properties and are being used as a curing agent. Specially Ginger is among the healthiest (and most delicious) spices. It is loaded with nutrients and bio-active compounds that have powerful benefits for human body and brain.Ginger can be used fresh, dried, and powdered form. It is a very common ingredient in kitchen recipes
This kind of homemade and fresh Murabbas are prepared and packed by Superbee.
Let’s talk about Superbee’s Ginger murabba with organic honey.
Why murabba with Honey and not sugar syrup?
GINGER AND HONEY HAS ITS OWN PROPERTIES AND BENEFITS, AND THIS REMEDY IS USED FROM ANCIENT TIMES, TO MAKE THE BEST HOME MADE MEDICINE WITH MANY BENEFICIARY QUALITIES AND NO SIDE EFFECTS.
Sugar may not give you the benefits when mixed with ginger.
The sole reason why Superbee manufactures this is that ginger along with organic honey is very effective and cures various regional diseases.
On our daily basis, we get cough and cold and tend to consult a doctor. Isn’t it? Well, for a change try using Superbee ginger murabba with honey instead. This will keep a balance when it comes to your health conditions.
Good management practices are the key to success of a beekeeper. Seasonal management of honey bee colonies involves seasonal manipulations of hive and hive space to provide room when necessary for the expanding brood-rearing area and for storage of surplus honey. Some recommendations for seasonal management are as under:
Summer Management
Micro climate of the colony should be regulated by keeping wet gunny bags over the top cover and sprinkling water on and around the colonies in the apiary during noon hours.
Clean and fresh water should be available near colonies. Clean water could also be fed inside the hives. (For first 2-3 days of placing fresh water feeders the may not take it, but once they start they will be benefited).
Colonies should be kept under thick shade and along avenue of trees or bushes to avoid high temperature and westerly hot winds during summer.
Entrance of the colony should be wide enough to maintain proper ventilation. Provide additional gate to multi chambered colonies.
During summers number of frames should be reduced by 1
Place extra super with empty frames, without combs or comb foundation for the bees to expand their cluster.
To sustain fresh air flow a thin stick piece should be kept between two adjacent chambers.
Monsoon Management
Apiary and colonies should be placed/moved to under shade with clear flow of air so that humidity does not stagnate in the apiary.
Apiary and colonies should be kept clean. Ensure frequent change of the bottom boards with clean and dry ones.
Thick Sugar syrup and pollen substitute should be fed as per requirements of the colony.
Weak, diseased and laying worker colonies should be kept together in a separate yard.
Predator’s attacks should be kept under control by using non toxic methods.
Monsoon Season & Autumn Management
This is the period when colonies should be prepared for future honey flow
There should be enough space in the colonies for ventilation and movements of bees.
Colonies should be strengthened to stimulate brood rearing by providing the colonies with simulative sugar feeding at night only.
Old black combs and those infested with pests should be cleared (collected and boiled with water to separate the wax)and replaced by clean new combs.
Ectoparasitic mites, wax moth and predatory wasps should be controlled carefully and effectively.
As soon as the presence of fresh wax / comb building is observed the colonies should be provided with frames with fresh comb foundation to fill up the space in the brood chamber and feed the colonies with (50:50) sugar syrup for 3-4 days. Even the darker combs can be replaced with new comb foundation frames at this time. This operation will stimulate the building of new combs and increased brood rearing.
SEASONAL MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEE COLONIES
Winter Management
Plains and Foot Hills of India
This is the productive period in the plains and foot-hills in India.
In late Autumn and early winter adding new comb foundation and managing the bee colonies for increased brood rearing be continue.
As the drone brood appears steps for queen rearing and swarm control should be taken.
In the selected colonies for queen rearing good larger sized queen cells should be selected, marked and utilized for rearing good quality queens.
Supers, preferably half or shallow supers with drawn combs or with new comb foundation should be added to full 9 to 10 frame bee colonies.
More supers should be ready for use as additional ones or to more colonies that are developing.
As the supers get filled and sealed arrangements for honey extraction and handling in hygienic and contamination free way should be taken.
Higher Hills with severe winters
Colonies should be examined regularly.
Colonies should be shifted to place with enough sun light.
Winter cover should be provided to weak colonies.
Sugar syrup or pollen substitute should be fed to weak colonies as this Stimulative feeding provides energy and helps initiating brood rearing.
Wind breakers should be used to protect bees from chilly and frosty winds.
Weak colonies should be united with stronger ones.
मॉडर्न लाइफ़स्टाइल और माडर्न खानपान आज हमारे डेली रूटीन का हिस्सा बन गया है| लाइफ की स्पीड इतनी बढ़ चुकी है हमारे पास अपनी हेल्थ पर ध्यान देने का टाइम ही नहीं है, जिस बात का फायदा उठा कर बाज़ार हम पर हावी हो रहा है, और मिसलीडिंग एडवर्टाइज़मेंट के ज़रिए हमें ऐसी चीज़ों का इस्तेमाल करने के लिए मजबूर किया जा रहा है जो अपने साथ बहुत सारी ख़तरनाक बीमारियां लेकर आती हैं, फिर चाहे वह केमिकल से बनी एनर्जी ड्रिंक हो या फिर आयुर्वेद के नाम पर बेचे जाने वाले लो क्वालिटी प्रोडक्ट्स|
इन बीमारियों का इलाज एलोपैथ के ज़रिए हो तो सकता है लेकिन इनका साइड इफेक्ट भी बहुत होता है| ऐसे में आयुर्वेद की इंपोर्टेंस बढ़ जाती है| आयुर्वेद में हेल्दी रहने के लिए जिन चीज़ों का सुझाव दिया गया है उनमें से एक है हनी| शहद खाने की चीज़ होने के साथ-साथ एक असरदार आयुर्वेदिक दवाई भी है, जिससे आप कई बीमारियों से निजात पा सकते हैं|
तो हम आपको प्योर हनी के बारे में बताएंगे, जो आपको कई सारी घातक बीमारियों से दूर रखने में मदद करेगी| क्योंकि Prevention is always better than cure…
आयुर्वेद से मिले इस वरदान का बाज़ार में बहुत ही गलत तरीक़े से एडवर्टाइज़मेंट हो रहा है| बहुत सारी कंपनियां ऐसी भी है जो सिर्फ़ अपने फायदे के लिए नकली शहद तो बेच ही रहे हैं और प्योर शहद के बारे में लोगों को गुमराह भी कर रही है| अमेरिका और यूरोप के कई देशों में क्रिस्टल हनी यानी जमने वाले शहद की बहुत डिमांड है| यहां तक कि इजिप्ट के पिरामिड से निकला बरसों पुराना शहद भी जमा हुआ और खाने लायक था, जिससे दो बातें साबित होती हैं कि इनका का इस्तेमाल हमारे पूर्वज आदि काल से ही करते आ रहे हैं, और प्योर शहद भी जम जाता है| लेकिन आजकल इनकी प्योरिटी को कैसे चेक किया जाए यह एक बहुत बड़ी चिंता का विषय है| मार्केट में बहुत सारी कंपनियों के शहद अवेलेबल है, और वह अपने शहद को ही असली शहद बताकर गुमराह करने वाला एडवर्टाइज़मेंट करती है, जबकि वह शहद कॉर्न सिरप या राइस सिरप या फिल्टर्ड चीनी के घोल गोल से ज़्यादा कुछ नहीं होता, जिसमें थोड़ी सी क्वांटिटी में शहद और प्रिज़र्वेटिव होता है|
शुद्ध शहद मौसम के हिसाब से अलग अलग टेस्ट और अलग अलग कलर का होता है|
आप जो ब्रांडेड शहद मार्केट से ख़रीद कर खा रहे हैं वह दरअसल नकली शहद है क्योंकि आप जिस भी कंपनी का शहद इस्तेमाल करते हैं वह साल भर एक जैसा ही रहता है, ना तो उसका रंग बदलता है और ना ही वह जमता है| यहां तक की वह कंपनियां यह बताती ही नहीं कि जो शहद वह बेच रहे हैं वह कौन सा है| जबकि शुद्ध शहद मौसम के हिसाब से अलग अलग टेस्ट और अलग अलग कलर का होता है, जैसे जामुन, नीम, सरसों, सहजन, लीची आदि| जैसे जब लीची का मौसम होता है तो लीची के फूलों से मधुमक्खीयाँ नेक्टर इकट्ठा करती हैं और उनसे बनाती हैं वो लीची का शहद है जबकि मार्केट में मौजूद कंपनियां पूरे साल एक ही शहद बेचती हैं लेकिन उस शहद का तैयार होने का या तैयार करने का सोर्स क्या है नहीं बताती, जिससे साबित होता है कि आप भी नकली शहद ही इस्तेमाल करते हैं|
शहद का सेवन डायबिटीज/मधुमेह रोगी कर सकते हैं |
क्या आप जानते हैं मार्केट में मिल रहे शहद को डायबिटीज़ के मरीज़ इस्तेमाल नहीं करते| उसकी वजह है कॉर्न सिरप या राइस सिरप वाला नकली शहद| अगर डायबिटीज़ के मरीज़ किसी दवाई का इस्तेमाल करने के लिए मार्केट में मौजूद शहर का इस्तेमाल करता है तो उसका शुगर लेवल बढ़ जाता है, जबकि जामुन के फूलो नेक्टर से बना शहद के इस्तेमाल से शुगर का लेवल नॉर्मल रहता हैं| आपको यहाँ यह बताना जरूरी है कि जामुन के पेड़ से मिलने वाला हनी डायबिटीज़ के मरीज़ों के लिए सबसे अच्छी दवाइयों में से एक है|
प्योर हनी/ शहद का कलर बदलता है |
शायद आप लोग यह भी नहीं जानते होंगे प्योर हनी का कलर टाइम टू टाइम बदल जाता है| क्या हुआ? शौक लगा? चौंक गए न आप लोग? जी हाँ, यह बिल्कुल सच है कि प्योर हनी का कलर बदलता है| जबकि बाज़ार में अवेलेबल शहद न तो कभी जमता है और न ही कभी रंग बदलता है| मतलब वह साल भर एक ही रंग का बना रहता है| जबकि प्योर हनी धीरे धीरे डार्क या लाइट कलर का हो जाता है, और शहद में मौजूद (म्यूटेशन प्रॉपर्टीज़ यानी) कणों का ख़ुद ही बदलने का गुण ही उसे हजारों सालों तक शुद्ध और खाने लायक बनाए रखते हैं|
जैसा कि हम आपको पहले ही बता चुके हैं कि हनी का इस्तेमाल कई बीमारियों के इलाज में भी किया जाता है| मार्केट में बहुत सारे शहद के ब्रांड मौजूद हैं, जो अपने आप को सबसे अच्छा और सबसे प्योर होने का दावा करते हैं| लेकिन इनमें हमारे शरीर की स्वीकार्य सीमा (यानी एक्सेप्टेबल लिमिट) से भी कहीं ज्यादा हानिकारक एंटीबायोटिक्स हो सकते हैं, और साथ ही इसमें कॉर्न सिरप, राइस सिरप या फिर शक्कर भी मिला हो सकता है| ऐसे में चाहत की टेस्टिंग ज़रूरी हो जाती है|
अब तो आप समझ ही गए होंगे कि अभी तक आप जो शहद खा रहे हैं वह नकली है क्योंकि शहद स्पेसिफिक फ्लोरा का ही होता है और मौसम के हिसाब से ही अवेलेबल होता है|
स्पेसिफिक फ्लोरा वाला प्योर हनी कहां से मिलेगा?
अब जब बाजार में ज़्यादातर नकली शहद ही अवेलेबल है तो फिर आप सोच रहे होंगे कि आपको स्पेसिफिक फ्लोरा वाला प्योर हनी कहां से मिलेगा? तो आपकी परेशानी को समझते हुए हम आपके लिए दुनिया का सबसे प्योर, 100% नेचुरल और बायोलॉजिकल (यानि जैविक) शहद लेकर आए हैं, जिसे बोतलों में भरा है सुपरबी कंपनी ने| सुपरबी हनी को देश के कोने कोने में प्योर और नेचुरल एटमॉस्फेयर (यानि प्राकृतिक वातावरण) में हज़ारों किस्मों के दवाई बनाने में काम आने वाले फूलों सेमधुमक्खियों के ज़रिए नेक्टर इकट्ठा करके तैयार किया जाता है|
अब आप सोच रहे होंगे कि शहद की कौन सी किस्में? जी हां सुपरबी हनी कंपनी भारत में पहली बार लेकर आए हैं सरसों, लीची, जामुन, नीम, सफेदा, बेर, शीशम, अजवाइन आदि किस्म के शहद| जिनका अपनी किस्मके मुताबिक अपनी ही इंपॉर्टेंस है, और किस्मके हिसाब से ही शहद को नेचुरली तैयार भी किया जाता है| जो कभी खराब नहीं होते| हाँ सुपरबी हनी 100% नेचुरल और बायोलॉजिकल होने के कारण जम भी जाते हैं जिससे यह साबित होता है कि सुपरबी हनी 100% प्योर भी है| जैसा कि हम आपको पहले ही बता चुके हैं कि सुपरबी हनी दुनिया का सबसे प्योर हनी है, यह इतना प्योर है कि एक न्यूबॉर्न बेबी को भी चटाया जा सकता है|
सुपरबी शहद/हनी में मिनरल्स और न्यूट्रिशियस एलेमेंट्स का भंडार है|
क्या आप जानते हैं कि सुपरबी हनी में मिनरल्स का भंडार है जिसमें कैलशियम, कॉपर, आयरन, मैगनीज़, मेन हैं| इसमें विटामिन B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 और बायोटीन और फोलिक एसिड के अलावा लगभग 19 तरह के अमीनो एसिड भी ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा मात्रा में पाए जाते हैं|
सुपरबी हनी मिनरल्स और न्यूट्रिशियस एलेमेंट्स का भंडार है| इसमें हाई फेनोलिक और फ्लेवोनॉयड कॉन्टेंट के साथ अलग अलग तरह के फाइटोकेमिकल्स भी मौजूद, जो इसकी हाई एंटीऑक्सीडेंट एक्टिविटी को बढ़ाते हैं| इसमें एंटी ऑक्सीडेंट क्वालिटी है, जो फ्री रेडिकल्स की ग्रोथ को रोकने में कामयाब है| यह डाइजेशन के लिए भी अच्छा है और यह एक प्रीबायोटिक के रूप में भी काम करता है| जो कि शरीर की इम्युनिटी को बढ़ाने, घावों को ठीक करने और टिश्यूज़ को बढ़ाने में मदद करते हैं| सुपरबी हनी बॉडी में न्यूट्रिशन की कमी को दूर करता है| सुपरबी हनी घावों को इंफेक्शन से बचाता है|
आयुर्वेद में शहद के औषधीय गुण
आयुर्वेद में भी ऐसा माना जाता है कि अलग अलग जगह पर लगने वाले छत्तों के शहद की क्वालिटी और उनके इस्तेमाल भी अलग-अलग होते हैं| जैसे नीम पर लगे छत्ते का शहद आंखों के लिए अच्छा होता है, वैसे ही जामुन का शहद डायबिटीज के लिए और सहजन पर लगा शहद हार्ट और ब्लड प्रेशर के लिए अच्छा होता है|
इसीलिए सुपरबी जामुन हनी और नीम हनी ब्लड प्रेशर के पेशेंट्स के लिए वरदान है| जो ब्लड प्रेशर के पेशेंट्स के शुगर लेवल को बराबर रखने में मदद करता है और साथ ही साथ लंग्स और किडनी की सुरक्षा भी करता है| सुपरबी नीम हनी ब्लड फ्यूरी फिकेशन से लेकर कील मुंहासे दूर करने, चेहरे की चमक बढ़ाने के लिए पूरी तरह कारगर है| इसीलिए सुपरबी हनी को समपूर्ण प्राकृतिक आहार और औषधि यानि टोटल नेचुरल डाइट और मेडिसिन कहते हैं|
………………………….. हम आपको अगले ब्लॉग में बताएँगे की कैसे पहचानें कि शहद शुद्ध है या मिलावटी और पहचान का तरीका |
Successful honey harvest requires skillful Apiary management. Which include application of knowledge and practices that will fully utilize the productive capacity of the honey-bee colony, managing low-producing colonies, placement of apiary, managing during various seasons’ i.e seasonal Apiary management etc. This good management will result into higher producing colonies and high productivity.
Some recommendations for Apiary managements are as under:
Standard bee hive
Use of bee hive made as per BIS standard design- IS 1515: Beehives
Use of Brood chamber nailed with the bottom board should be avoided
Use of only wooden inner cover of right design over the brood / super chamber and never old gunny bag. The top cover should also be as per BIS design.
Locally available seasoned lightweight wood to be used to make hives. Unseasoned wood should never be used
Placement of colonies in apiary
In an Apiary, over-stocking of colonies should be avoided, either by restricting the number of bee colonies to be about 50-100 and/or by maintaining a distance of 10 feet and 3 feet from row to row and box to box respectively.
Bee colonies should be well distributed over the nectar flow source / flowering crop for better Apiary management.
BIS Standard beehive of Hi-tech Natural products (India) ltd.
Placement of colonies in apiary
In an Apiary, over-stocking of colonies should be avoided, either by restricting the number of bee colonies to be about 50-100 and/or by maintaining a distance of 10 feet and 3-5 feet from row to row and box to box respectively.
Bee colonies should be well distributed over the nectar flow source / flowering crop.
Arrangement of hives in an apiary
Inspection of colonies
Precautions
Inspection should be done on clear sunny days using proper protection tools.
Avoid inspections during cold, windy and cloudy days in winter or higher hills and hot windy and rainy days in plains and hot weather.
Personal hygiene that includes being free of any off smell or scent and scented oil on body or in hairs.
Smoker to be kept ready for use whenever required to subdue the bees.
Handling of healthy and diseased colonies separately.
Handling of colonies should be gentle, avoiding jerks fast movements of hands. Crushing of bees should be avoided as it can cause stinging and spread of disease.
Inspection of colonies
Following to be checked during inspection:
Presence of a healthy laying queen; regular fresh eggs are the proof if queen is not seen due to rush of worker bees.
Presence of regular larval and pupal (sealed) brood.
Presence of enough food, honey and pollen for the bees and brood.
Bottom board is clean and free of any debris or pest stages.
Colony is free of any abnormality or infestation or diseased appearance or changes in behavior of bees.
Provision of fresh water in the apiary
For maintaining healthy bee colonies in the apiary, fresh water availability should be ensured, as water is used for the following:
Maintaining adequate humidity that helps in proper incubation of eggs.
Maintaining the temperature of the brood area /cluster between 35° and 37°C.
Preparation of a mixture of honey and pollen of particular consistency (the bee bread) for feeding the brood by nurse bees.
Care in migration of the apiaries
Preparation for migration-
Survey the area to assess the availability of the flora, safe location for placing the bee colonies, storing of accessories and dead stock, availability of fresh water source for bees, away from high ways, away from busy railway tracts, away from running (like river) or big water source, away from stagnated water safe from flooding possibilities, access to ease in transport etc.
Ensure extraction of the honey to empty the supers completely and to lighten the brood chambers of the extra honey stock.
Close the entrance gates of all the colonies. In the evening after sun set, when all the worker bees are inside.
To avoid jerks pack the colonies internally (the frames in the hive bodies) and externally (bottom board to brood chamber to super to inner cover to top cover) properly.
During transport-
In the vehicle, colonies should be packed in such a way that the entrance side should face the front side of the vehicle and the hives do not get jerks on any rough road.
One should move the vehicle late in the evening after sun set and reach the destination within 10-12 hours about sun rise.
Open the entrance gates only after the colonies are placed at their new locations.
If the destination is far away, keep halting at intervals in day time, unload the hive and open the entrance gates at interim location and repeat the process of migration again.
Antibiotics in waste water from pharmaceutical industry.
Sugar mills, Sugar cane crushers, country KOHLLU or other foodstuff productions that could attract the bees.
Avoid pesticide
Contaminants can be present on/in the flowers, in the water and in the air and possibly enter the honey produced by the bee colonies.
Disturbance and annoyance due to power stations, highway, train tracks etc. situated near bee colonies.
Fire due to lot of dry leaves around the apiary.
General Requirements for natural honey
Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature.
Recommendations for Selection of Apiary Site
Apiary Site should be-
Clean
at dry place having shade
open
Near the supply of fresh running water near the area which is rich in flora
what to look for a Apiary site location?
Easy accessibility to road. however, in order to avoid disturbance, it should not be made near the large roads with very heavy traffic, power stations, highway, train tracks etc. and away from or any other activity that could be a source of stagnant/dirty water, chemical industry.
Site should get proper sunshine especially morning and afternoon sunshine and free from dry leaves to avoid fire during summer.
Wind breaks should be available whether artificial or natural.
Within 2-3 kilometers, there should be no other commercial apiary site.
Documentation shall show that pollen and nectar sources within a radius of 3 km around the apiary is free from large roads with very heavy traffic, industrial (chemical or sugar mill etc.) dumps, contaminated waters, cultivation of GMO crops or industry with contamination risk for the produced honey.
Superbee’s Apiary site
Are you looking for honeybee training courses in India?
Beekeeper or apiarists is a person who keeps honey bees in beehive and practices beekeeping.General management of the bee colonies has an overall impact of the quality of the produced honey. The beekeeper must have the basic knowledge about beekeeping practices to keep a sustainable beekeeping and to produce a high quality honey.
Beekeeper or apiarists
Lack of knowledge of beekeeper about basic beekeeping practices can raise the possibility of risk occurrence like Spread of diseases, lack of competence, lack of tractability.Thus, beekeeper should undergo training for general and advance requirements for bee keeping.
The persons working with the honey should not have any infectious diseases.
The staff should know about Good Manufacturing Practices and health hazards.
The honey put on the market should be traceable both upstream and downstream in the production chain. If the honey is sold directly to end consumers the tractability is only demanded upstream.
The persons working with the honey should not have any infectious diseases. Clean hands and if wounds on hands, disposable gloves should be used.
The staff handling the honey shall have good knowledge about Good Manufacturing Practices and know about the hazards in the production.
This guide highlights on the responsible honey production with due consideration to relevant hygiene standards as well as requirements for contaminants and residues with emphasis on the self-control of production chain including working with hives, working with honey and post handling of extracted honey, in order to produce honey with high quality and safer consumption.
The process of honey harvest at apiary level involves various steps from selection of apiary to collection and storage.
WORKING WITH THE HIVES
SELECTION OF APIARY SITE
MANAGEMENT OF APIARY
SEASONAL MANAGEMENT
ADDITION OF FRAMES / BOXES
CONTROLLING BEE DISEASES
FEEDING THE BEES (EMERGENCY FEEDING)
ASSESSMENT OF THE OF THE HONEY RIPENESS
HONEY HARVEST
TRANSPORT OF HONEY COMBS/ SUPERS FROM THE APIARY TO THE EXTRACTION FACILITY
WORKING WITH THE HIVES
THE EXTRACTION FACILITY
UNCAPPING, EXTRACTION AND STRAINING
COLLECTION IN BULK
CLEANING OF EQUIPMENT AND WASTE FROM THE BEEKEEPING
Seeing solid honey do you also think “it is expired”? Before you do anything impulsive, don’t throw it out! Your honey is not bad; it’s just changing. It’s crystallized honey.
Looking at crystallized honey we often feel that it is either sugar candy or it’s not pure.
Crystallized honey
Due to lack of awareness in the common masses, there is a perception that honey that crystallizes has “gone bad” or that it is a sign of contamination. No! It’s actually a sign of high quality honey.
Crystallization of honey is a natural and uncontrolled process, almost all pure raw honey crystallizes. But those who manufacture fake honey have spread the MYTH that if honey crystallizes it is FAKE.
So let’s see the truth of crystallized honey?
Actually Pure raw and unheated honey has a tendency to crystallize over time. Crystallization of honey is as simple as transformation of water to ice.
But why does this happen?
Glucose and fructose. These two F/G ratio play a key role in crystallization. Different flower nectars have different ratios, and the crystals in your honey will reflect those different ratios. If you know the ratio of these two F/G ratio Honeys with a low glucose-to-fructose ratio will crystallize more quickly and we find this to be true with floral honeys like mustard honey, eucalyptus and others. If the glucose-to-fructose ratio is high, like with flowering trees such as Jamun honey, Ajwain honey, Sheesham honey, Neem honey, then crystallization is much slower.
So, the first reason of honey crystallization is its F/G ratio. However, the rate of crystallization depends not only F/G ratio but also temperature factors:
Superbee Honey is more likely to crystallize, because we do not heat our honey at high temperatures. Temperatures lower than 45 degrees Fahrenheit can cause crystallization. During those cold winter months, the honey begins to crystallize because of the lower temperatures. This crystallization even happens in the hive in colder temperatures.
You can make crystallized honey to normal again by putting honey jar in a pan full of warm water or in sun rays and from it you can also check whether honey is pure or not if it comes to its normal texture, then its pure.
But branded company processed the honey at high temperatures to keep honey slippery smooth and liquid form. So we have a suggestion for you that do not eat that branded slippery smooth and liquid form honey, because excess heat (Above 50 degrees Fahrenheit) will change the makeup of the honey, and destroys all preferred enzymes and vitamins and minerals.
Keeping it close to raw or crystallized is great for your Health
Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature.
The composition of honey depends on the floral source of the nectar for the honey production. In general honey contains: 15-20 percentage of water, 80 percentage of sugars (30-45% fructose, 24-40% glucose and 5-8% other sugars) and 3 percentage of other substances (honey acids, amino acids, proteins, enzymes (amylase, invertase, diastase and glucose oxidase), vitamins, minerals and hydroxyl methyl furfural (HMF). HMF is a decomposition product of fructose, which increases over time. It is used as an index of honey quality as it gets very high when the honey is heated or when it is stored under warm conditions for a longer period. So-called “fresh honey” even contains lactic acid bacteria.
Worker bees extract the nectar by visiting the multiple flowers once the nectar is collected, the bee stores it in its extra stomach where it mixes with enzymes, and then passes it to another bee’s mouth, via regurgitation. This process is repeated until the nectar converts to glucose and fructose and then diffuse the substance into honeycombs, so that the worker bees fan the liquid nectar with their wings, to evaporate the water for making the honey less watery. When the honey production has finished, other bees are responsible for sealing the cells of honeycombs with wax, so that the product is protected. This wax protected honey is called comb honey. This honey color and flavor varies based on the nectar collected by the bee’s example honey made from Ajwain blossom nectar might be dark in color, whereas honey from litchi might have a light color.
Honey has antibacterial properties due to its high sugar content, its low pH, the hydrogen peroxide formation and probiotic effect of the lactic acid bacteria. The health properties vary between the different honeys depending on floral origin and the conditions during the production. Honey benefits based on the nectar collected by the bees example multiflora blossom nectar honey good for immunity boosting and Ajwain blossom nectar honey Cures indigestion and stomach pain
Health Benefits are:
Honey for Immunity Boosting: Honey’s antioxidant and antibacterial properties help improve the digestive system and boost immunity. It is also a powerhouse of antioxidants, which are very effective for the removal of free radicals from the body.
Natural Energy Booster
Its regular use treats cough, cold and fever
Stay fit, feel young and enhances athletic performance
