Beekeeping is the care of honeybees that enables them to produce and store greater amounts of honey than they need, thus enabling the rest to be collected or harvested. Beekeepers need special tools and supplies to raise bees and collect the honey. For example, the beekeeper must wear a veiled hood when collecting the honey and must have a special tool for cutting the comb [source: Britannica]. Some of the beekeeper's tools are usual household tools, such as a hammer, wood glue, painting tools, outdoor paint and spray bottles [source: Utah Beekeepers] Of course beekeepers use many other supplies, as well. Once you've set up your frames [source: Flottum], you'll need the following supplies to become a beekeeper.
- Hive tool The hive tool is used to open the hive, remove the frames and scrape the comb.
- Bee brush This is a special brush that's used to remove bees from your clothing and from the frames [source: Utah Beekeepers].
- Smoker You'll use smoke from a smoker to tranquilize and calm down the bees so they don't attack you when you open the hive [source: Flottum]. You can also try using a can of liquid smoke.
- Helmet The helmet is made of plastic or some woven material, and protects your head when the bees are around. It also supports the veil that is covering your face.
- Veil This protects your face and neck from the bees.
- Gloves Beekeepers wear special leather gloves with long sleeves that come up to the elbow.
- Suits Beekeepers wear a full-body protection suit to protect themselves against the bees.
- Extracting equipment You will need an extractor to extract the honey from the combs. Extractors can be either hand operated or electric. An uncapping device, such as a knife, is needed in order to remove the caps from the frames. As well as the extractor and uncapper, you will need a strainer, or filter, to filter the honey before bottling [source: Utah Beekeepers]. //]]]]> ]]>
Advertisement
