Question

Define apiculture.

Answer 1

Hint:- Apiculture is also known as Beekeeping. Here the bees are maintained to collect honey and other by products. The demand for the products of apiculture are increasing day by day because of the health benefits of honey.

Complete step-by-step solution:-
Apiculture is the preservation by humans of bee colonies, usually in man-made hives.
In the genus Apis, most of these bees are honey bees, although other honey-producing bees are also held, such as Melipona stingless bees. In order to collect their honey and other items that the hive produces which includes beeswax, propolis, flower pollen, bee pollen, and royal jelly, a beekeeper (or apiary) keeps bees in order to pollinate crops or to provide bees for sale to other beekeepers. An apiary or 'bee yard' is called a place where bees are housed.
A fixed comb hive is a conventional hive system in which, without permanently destroying the comb, the combs can not be removed or manipulated for management or harvesting. To this end, it is possible to use almost any hollow structure, such as a log gum, skep, wooden box, or a clay pot or tube. In developed countries, fixed comb hives are no longer widely used and are illegal in areas that require movable combs.
Top bar hives are one of the modern methods of bee keeping that have been widely embraced in Africa where tropical honeybee ecotypes are preserved. Their benefits include being lightweight, adaptable, simple for the bees to collect honey, and less stressful. Disadvantages involve fragile combs that can not normally be removed and returned to the bees to be replenished and that can not be easily extended for additional honey storage.
Protective clothing and smoker are the main protective gears used while beekeeping.

Note:- Nowadays apiculture is widely practised both domestically and commercially because of the demand of the products of honey bees. The best time to start beekeeping is during the months of January and March where the yield is more.