Hidden benefit of beekeeping: bee manure!

gavin

Published on 05-05-2010 07:50 AM

3 Comments

Would it help your garden to gather nitrogen-rich products from flowers over an area of many square miles then spray them around within 20 metres or so? Indian beekeeper Mr Swaminathan explains:

“The bees normally use an area within a radius of 10-30 meters of the beehive as a toilet zone. It is estimated that an average beehive produces as much as 45-50 kg of bee dung a year, neatly deposited around the beehive as high nitrogenous manure.
“When it rains, this pollen dung gets washed into the soil, breaks down and provides an excellent natural fertilizer.
“Hence, to a farmer rearing bees in a field to pollinate the crop, he gets an additional bonus in the form of manure.”

Read more in The Hindu.

Attached Files

coop..jpg (74.9 KB, 1170 views)
coop..jpg (63.3 KB, 10583 views)

3 Comments

The Drone Ranger - 01-10-2011, 04:51 PM
- Reply
Wasps prey on caterpillars early in the year when they need protein to feed larva. Caterpillars drop off plants when they sense wasp wing vibration. They can't tell the difference between bees and wasps so they drop to the ground when bees appear nearby. this means bees on an allotment protect cabbages from cabbage white butterfly. If the caterpillars start to ignore the bees the wasps get 'em instead.

Calum - 09-01-2012, 10:41 PM
- Reply
all the dead bees would add quite a bit to that figure
if a carnica queen lays 2000 bees / day and on average a bee weighs about 200mg thats a peak of 400g dead bees / day at some point later...

Poly Hive - 09-03-2013, 10:07 AM
- Reply
I can tell you that the grass at the Craibstone Apiary which at times had 80 colonies on it grew considerably faster, greener and richer than any of the other lawns.

I know cos I was the poor mower. Cutting an acre with a flymow is not enjoyable.

PH

Hidden benefit of beekeeping: bee manure!

vBulletin Message