Beekeeping is an highly rewarding and gratifying pursuit to undertake and the benefits speak for themselves, especially beekeeping with honey bees. Beekeepers will have the joy of their garden (and nearby gardens) being pollinated and will also enjoy their own delicious honey.
The term "busy as a bee" is commonplace, and with very good reason. That's because it is so very true! Bees work so hard each day that only a little over a month after they are born, they have already worn their wings out. As a result, they can no longer serve the colony and they die. The colony accumulates the honey which is then used as their food source when flowers are not blooming. If it's been a good season with flowers bearing good quantities of nectar, then the bees can gather this nectar and produce far more honey than they themselves can consume on their own. The beekeeper of such a hive can then harvest enough honey to use themselves or they can use it to sell for a profit. This when the beekeeping of honey bees is fun!
There are two paths for beekeepers to take to make money from the honey their hive is producing by selling two different varieties of honey. The "liquid honey" is the first and this is the honey that's taken from the hive itself. A straightforward process, is it performed using centrifuge equipment with machines known as extractors. And the other option is by selling the individual pieces of the "comb" itself. The comb honey is the honey that remains in the original wax combs that the bees assembled. Although this type of honey is less malleable than the liquid form when it comes to cooking or mixing in drinks, its flavors are highly sought after by those who prefer the natural approach.
Not many people know that honey comes in many several colors and flavors. And it begins with the flowers. All the different kinds of flowers have various and ranging scents. Consequently, the nectar from one particular flower is going to have a different smell and taste to that of another flower. What the soil is composed of also has a bearing on the flavor of the honey and its appearance. A good example of this is alfalfa. Due to the alkali soil it grows in, the honey it's derived from will be a white or clear color. And honey that is the product of the nectar of buckwheat tends to be quite dark because of the levels of acidity in that soil. Also, a key factor to how the honey tastes and appears is down to the caliber of the honey comb. Honey can comprise of an variety of different colors and hues, ranging from yellow to red and even green.
Following state and federal regulations for the processing, labeling and treatment of food products when honey and other forms of bee products are involved is highly advised. One must understand that it's a real business and the laws of local government institutions may be different in some areas. One must also take into account the marketing strategies to utilize in order to help promote and sell their honey and other bee products. Some common questions are: "What's the best place in my locality to sell honey?" or "Who should I be targeting for the biggest sales?". It's true that beekeeping is a fantastic hobby, but once the choice to turn beekeeping from a hobby to a fully fledged business has been made, the decisions will then be about making sure the beekeeper doesn't just get by, but to make a suitable income from it.