ECONOMICS OF BEEKEEPING

Dr. B. K. SONTAKKE PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, OUAT, BHUBANESWAR

BY-PRODUCTS OF BEEKEEPING

HONEY
Foremost important by-product

Importance known to people since time immemorial Used in religious functions Used as medicine, food and in cosmetics
Production
4-15 kg/colony of A.c.indica 10-40 kg/colony of A.mellifera Cost- .300-700/kg

BEE-WAX
Second important by-product Produced by 12-16 days old worker bees through 8 nos. of wax glands. So it is a product of biological activity of workers 1 kg of wax is produced by consuming 10 kg of honey Used for preparation of comb foundation sheets Used in cosmetic industries Used for coating of drugs and pills
Production A.dorsata- 2kg/colony A.mellifera- 1kg/colony A.c.indica- 0.5kg/colony Cost .500-700/kg

BEE VENOM It is secreted by the glands associated with the sting apparatus
One bee can produce 0.15- 0.30mg venom Medium lethal dose for an adult human(60 kg wt.) is 2.8mg 600 stings may be fatal to a man 1 million bee stings required for 1g of venom Bee venom can be produced scientifically It is used for preparation of medicine particularly arthritis, joint pain and nervous disorder Adult bees can also be used to sting the patient directly

Cost- .4000-5000/1g venom Production- 1 million bee stings for 1g of venom

ROYAL JELLY
Secreted by hypopharyngeal glands of young bees to feed
larvae and adult queen bee Gives long life and enormous fertility to the queen Commercial production of royal jelly is possible by stimulating colonies to produce queens other than natural Uses: As dietary supplement As an ingredient in food products (with yogurt and honey) Used in medicines as stimulant Used in many dermatological preparations

Production- Av.500g/colony of A.mellifera in 5-6 months Cost- 15000 to20000/kg

POLLEN
Pollen is collected by worker bees Source of protein in the diet of bees During the period of abundant availability, pollen can be harvested for commercial purpose Pollen can be collected from the pollen loads carrying bees with the help of pollen trap

Uses:
In medicines and to treat allergies Used in cosmetics for rejuvenating and nourishing effects for skin Pollen tablets for supplement of nutrients Alcoholic or aqueous extracts are used in cosmetic formulations Hand collected pollen may be used for mechanical pollination
Production200-300g/colony of A.mellifera in 2 months Cost- 1500-2000/kg of pollen

PROPOLIS
Propolis is a mixture of bee wax and resins collected by honeybees from plants Bees scrap resins from flower and leaf buds, gums oozing out of the injuries on stem or branches of trees Propolis is used by bees (A.mellifera) for sealing nest cavities, cracks, reducing size of entrance etc. Dead insects or animals in the colony which are too large to be thrown out by bees are sealed with propolis Propolis protect the bees from diseases because of its antibacterial and antifungal properties For commercial purpose it can be collected from A. mellifera bee colonies by putting a specialized nylon traps

Uses:
Propolis is essential for dermatological and cosmetic creams Effective in the treatment of cardiovascular and blood system dental care, ulcers and digestive tract infections Its traditional use is as wood preservative and varnishes In food technology used as oxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal activities It can also be used in post harvest treatment of fruits

Production- 300g/colony of Propolis oil- 50g/1kg of propolis Cost- . 1000 to 1500/1kg of propolis

A. mellifera

BEE BROOD Honey bee brood recently tried as poultry feeds in advanced countries Very rich source of protein for poultry animals In Japan drone larvae and pupae are fed to the lady bird beetles as an artificial diet Adult bees are used for toxicological and physiological studies QUEEN PHEROMONES Produced by honeybee queen It inhibits the ovary development of worker bees Can be produced in laboratory Properties of pheromones have sufficient potential to inhibit development of insect pests by hindering their multiplication

POLLINATION SERVICES

Cannot be estimated but benefit is 20 times than that of all the hive products together
If the bee disappeared off the face of the globe then man would have only four years of life left. Albert Einstein

Cost of cultivation and profit due to honey bee keeping (10 hive unit) Expenditure for 1st year
Apis cerena indica
Item Bee box including super chamber Bee colonies Queen gate Hive stand Unit cost() 1680 600 8 325 Total cost 16800 6000 80 3250

Queen excluder sheet Honey extractor

Smoker Bee veil Hand gloves pair Sugar 5kg Medicine Miscellaneous Total

111 706
262 97 150 50/kg

1110 706
262 194 300 250 50 500 29502

Outcome for 1st year

Honey 30kg @ 300/kg 9000
500
5000 14500

Wax 1kg @ 500/kg

Colony 10 nos. @ 500/colony

Total

Loss = Expenditure Outcome = ( 29502- 14500 ) = 15002

2nd year
Expenditure Output

Sugar 10 kg ---- 500 Medicine ---- 100 Maintenance ---- 500 Miscellaneous --- 1000 _________________________ Total 2100

Colony - 10 nos. --- 5000 Honey - 50kg --- 15000 Wax - 1kg --- 500
_________________________ Total 20,500

Profit = Output Expenditure = (20,500 2100) = 18,400

Apis mellifera Expenditure for 10 units :

Item Bee box including super Bee colonies 8 frames Iron stand Queen excluder sheet Honey extractor Smoker Bee veil Hand glass Sugar 20kg Comb foundation sheet 2kg Medicine Unit cost() 6000 2500 1000 250 1800 262 97 150 50/kg 750/kg 20 Total cost () 60,000 25,000 10,000 2,500 1,800 262 194 300 1000 1500 200

Miscellaneous
Migration charges Total

1000
3000 1,06,756

Outcome for 1st year

Honey 150kg @ 300/kg Wax 4kg @ 500/kg
45,000 2,000

Colonies 10 nos. 4 frames

@ 1500/colony

15,000
62,000

Total

Loss = Expenditure Outcome

= ( 1,06,756 62,000)
= 44,756

2nd year
Expenditure
Sugar 30kg --- 1500 Comb foundation --- 3000 sheet 4kg Maintenance --- 2000 Miscellaneous --- 3000 Migration charges --- 3000 _________________________ Total 12,500

Output
Bee colonies10 nos. (4 frames) @ 1500 /colony 15,000 Honey 25kg/colony i.e. 250kg @ 300/kg -- 75,000 Wax 6kg @ 500/kg -- 3,000 _________________________________ Total 93,000

Profit = Output Expenditure = (93,000 12,500) = 80,500