HONEY BEE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES

HONEY BEE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES STUDENTS WILL LEARN ABOUT AND HOW TO USE BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT USED IN INDUSTRY.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT • Apart from the protective clothing, the two essential tools a beekeeper needs for a basic inspection of the colony are a smoker and a hive tool. • As the season progresses, you may need more items for specific tasks, such as a queen cage and marking tools.

BEE SUITE • All-in-one bee suite is the best. Jack, bibs, and hood can be sold sepertly. As the beekeeper gains confidence, they may be happy in just a jacket and veil.

GLOVES • Necessary to have on when checking beehive. Gauntlets offer good protection but must be washed regularly.

SMOKER • Used to calm and control the colony during an inspection.

MATCHES AND FUEL Paper, wood shavings, pine needles, twigs, and straw all provide suitable fuel for a smoker. Another good fuel is burlap.

HYGIENE EQUIPMENT • Keep a bucket of soda water with a brush and cloth for cleaning tools between hive inspection.

HIVE TOOL • Used to pry apart frames, lever boxes, and scrape wax and propolis.

MOUSE GARD Pinned to the entrance of the hive in winter to protect against mice.

BEE BRUSH • Can be useful for gently moving bees off frames or back into boxes

THUMB TACKS • Can be used to mark frames with queen cells, brood, and honey frames during inspection.

QUEEN CAGE • For trapping the queen, if you need to mark, move, transport and sale her.

QUEEN CATCHER • Used for catching queens to move, mark, cage, transport or sale.

QUEEN MARKER • Used to mark the Queen.

MITE BOARD • Board displaying a square grid. • Used for Varroa Mite Count.

MICROSCOPE • Used to check Varroa Mite and other pest. • Great tool used to examine strange things beekeepers come in contact with.

FUME BOARDS • For clearing bees from supers before harvesting honey

DECAPPING FORK (SCRATCH TOOL) • For honey extraction, but can also be used to check drone cells.

UN-CAPPING KNIFE • Used to un-cap wax from frames.

TWEEZERS • Useful for inspecting the health of larvae on the comb.

FEEDER • To supplement food stores in winter and at times of limited forage.

QUEEN EXCLUDER • Used to keep the Queen out of the honey supers.

BEE GONE/BEE QUICK • Sprayed on Fume boards to drive bees from honey supers.

SUPER AND BROOD FRAMES • Can be bought in kits or preconstructed.

BEEHIVE RECORD BOOK • Great for taking notes during hive inspections.

FRAME GRIP • Great for pulling brood/honey frames from hive body. .

SPRAY BOTTLE • Used for sugar water. Some beekeepers rather use sugar water on instead of smoke.

HONEY EXTRACTOR • Come in various sizes • Used to extract honey from frame.

HONEY BUCKET RACK • Holds bucket over another bucker, to allow honey to drain.

UNCAPPING FRAME BUCKET STAND • Used to set Capped Frame on, during honey extraction. • Sets over five gallon bucket.

HONEY BUCKET WITH GATE • Used during extraction. . • Supports the bottling process.

CROCK POT • Used to Melt Beeswax.

SOLAR WAX MELTER • Used to melt beeswax using solar heat.

HONEY FILTERS • Used to filter honey • Two Screens

NUC HIVE • Small five frame beehive. • Used for multiple situations: - Swarms - Installations - Requeening.

BEE HIVE • Where the honeybees live. • Consists of: - Outer Cover - Inner Cover - Shallow Honey Super - Deep Brood Box - Bottom Board - Entrance Reducer

REFERENCES • Chadwick, F. (2016). The bee book. Strand, London: Dorling Kindersley Limited. • Johnson, D. , & Johnson, S. (2019). The beginner’s guide to beekeeping  everything you need to know. Minneapolis, Mn: Voyageur Press. • Flottum, K. (2014). The backyard beekeeper’s honey handbook  a guide to creating, harvesting, and cooking with natural honeys. Beverly, Mass. : Quayside Pub. Group. • Jones, R. , & Sweeney-Lynch, S. (2011). The beekeeper’s bible  bees, honey, recipes & other home uses. New York: Abrams.