Bee milk, also known as royal jelly, is a white milk-like substance secreted by the pharyngeal gland and mandibular gland of worker bees aged 5-15 days. It has a complex composition and has special nourishing and strengthening effects. Bee milk has a wide range of medical uses and is also used in the cosmetics industry. Currently, the demand for bee milk is increasing both domestically and internationally.
The production of bee milk is similar to the artificial rearing of queen bees. It involves introducing an artificial queen bee cell into the bee colony for the worker bees to feed. However, in the production of bee milk, the milk is extracted within a certain period of time. During the production of bee milk, the wax bowl of the milking frame is filled with larvae hatched within 24 hours. After filling, the milking frame is placed on the hive. After two and a half days, the milking frame is removed and the larvae in the queen bee cell are taken out with a small knife and tweezers. Then, the bee milk in the queen bee cell is scraped out using a spoon or shovel and placed in a plastic bottle. After the plastic bottle is filled, it is placed in a wide-mouth thermos and transported to pharmaceutical factories or local purchasing departments. Some bee farms have not mastered the techniques for bee milk production, resulting in low production or poor quality. The following are some technical measures to improve the production of bee milk:
1. Use strong colonies for milking
The use of strong colonies or weak colonies for bee milk production is important, similar to the use of strong or weak colonies for honey collection during the nectar flow period. During the nectar flow period, even a 7-8 frame colony can produce bee milk, and with some measures, even weaker colonies can produce bee milk. However, it is not cost-effective to produce bee milk with small colonies, and the cost is high. Strong colonies have more nurse bees and stronger nursing ability, resulting in a larger quantity and better quality of bee milk. However, strong colonies should also pay attention to the appropriate number of queen bee cells. If there are too few queen bee cells, although the individual production per queen bee cell is high, the total production of the colony will be low. On the other hand, if there are too many queen bee cells, the individual milk production per queen bee cell will be low, and the total production of the colony will not increase; it will be a waste of effort. The number of queen bee cells to be placed should be considered based on the situation of the bee colony. In principle, the fewer queen bee cells, the better, as long as the total production is the same or close. If the total production is similar when placing 50 queen bee cells or 60 queen bee cells, it is better to place 50 queen bee cells. After several production cycles, the appropriate number can be determined for each bee colony in the entire apiary.
2. Shorten the milking time
Currently, bee milk is usually collected 2.5 days (60 hours) after the milking frame is placed. The larvae used for milking are larvae within 24 hours after hatching. According to the nursing rules, the larvae on the second and third days have the highest quantity of bee milk. If the larvae hatched within the first 48 hours (i.e., larvae within 48 hours) are used and kept in the milking frame for two days, the difference in bee milk production is minimal compared to the bee milk production after 2.5 days. This way, the milking time can be shortened by half a day, changing from milking every five days to every four days.
3. Extend the number of days for bee milk production throughout the year
Generally, bee milk production in bee farms starts only when natural swarming is about to occur and stops when there is a shortage of pollen in autumn. Taking Beijing as an example, bee milk production usually only lasts from mid-May to early August. By using appropriate methods, the bee milk production period can be extended. By using double hive bodies for overwintering and promoting colony reproduction in spring, it is possible to quickly add additional hive bodies (in late April) and start bee milk production. In order to improve the acceptance rate of queen bee cells, it is advisable to feed the queenless colonies for one day before transferring them to the production colonies. When there is a shortage of nectar and pollen sources and the colonies are not willing to nurse queen bee cells, they can be fed with diluted sugar water or diluted honey water daily. When there is a shortage of pollen, pollen sugar cakes or artificial pollen can be provided. In this way, bee milk production in Beijing can start from mid-April and continue until mid-September, extending the production period by two and a half months and increasing the annual bee milk production by 30-40%.
4. Use "supplemental colonies" and transfer larvae from auxiliary colonies
During bee milk collection, it is often observed that high-yield bee farms have an acceptance rate of queen bee cells exceeding 90%, while low-yield bee farms have a low survival rate of queen bee cells, sometimes as low as 20-40%. Objectively speaking, this is due to the small size of the larvae during transfer, which makes them susceptible to damage. If we are more skilled in the technique, we can check the acceptance situation of the queen bee cells 2-3 hours after placing them in the milking frame, and immediately supplement any cells that did not survive. For milking frames with acceptance rates below 90% the next morning, larvae transfer should be carried out again. This ensures a high survival rate of the queen bee cells.
The production of bee milk requires a large number of small larvae. Producing one pound of bee milk requires a loss of about 3,000 small larvae. Therefore, using small larvae from the production colonies is not only difficult to find, but also weakens the strength of the colony. If 1 auxiliary colony is equipped for every 2-3 production colonies, it is easier to find larvae from the auxiliary colonies without significantly affecting the production capacity of the production colonies.
5. Use a milking device for bee milk collection
Bee milk production is relatively labor-intensive. Currently, there is no better labor-saving measure for transferring larvae other than using a spring-loaded larva transfer needle. However, a milking device can be used to collect bee milk, which can increase efficiency by 8 times and is also clean and hygienic.
The milking device consists of two main parts: the suction part and the milking nozzle. The suction part can be a dental foot-operated suction device, an electric suction device, a modified atomizer, etc. The milking nozzle can be made of glass tubes, with a spherical suction end with a diameter of 6-7 millimeters (suitable for Italian bees) and a circular opening with a diameter of 2.5-3.5 millimeters at the tip. Several milking nozzles can be installed on one milking device. During milking, the wall of the queen bee cell is first leveled with a quick knife, and then the larvae are taken out with a pointed tweezers. After that, the milking nozzle is inserted into the queen bee cell, and the bee milk can be completely sucked out at once. In Heilongjiang Province, China, a wooden milking device is used, which is 110 to 120 millimeters long, 8 millimeters in diameter, with a hole in the middle, and a hole at the front end with a diameter of 1.8 to 2 millimeters and a length of 3 millimeters. The remaining holes are all 5 millimeters in length, and the effect is also good.
Bee milk is widely recognized for its health benefits, especially for people who are weak and prone to illness. Therefore, the demand for bee milk has increased, and as a result, the production of bee milk has become increasingly important in order to avoid counterfeit bee milk.
