Explain apiculture.

(N/A) Bee-keeping or apiculture is the maintenance of hives of honeybees for the production of honey. It has been an age-old cottage industry.
Honey is a food of high nutritive value and also finds use in the indigenous systems of medicine. Honeybee also produces beeswax which finds many uses in industry,such as in the preparation of cosmetics and polishes of various kinds.
The increased demand for honey has led to large-scale bee-keeping practices.
Bee-keeping can be practiced in any area where there are sufficient bee pastures of some wild shrubs,fruit orchards,and cultivated crops.
There are several species of honeybees which can be reared. Of these,the most common species is $Apis \text{ } indica$.
Beehives can be kept in one's courtyard,on the verandah of the house,or even on the roof. Bee-keeping is not labour-intensive.
Bee-keeping,though relatively easy,does require some specialised knowledge,and there are several organisations that teach bee-keeping.
The following points are important for successful bee-keeping: $(i)$ Knowledge of the nature and habits of bees,$(ii)$ Selection of suitable location for keeping the beehives,$(iii)$ Catching and hiving of swarms (group of bees),$(iv)$ Management of beehives during different seasons,and $(v)$ Handling and collection of honey and of beeswax.
Bees are the pollinators of many of our crop species such as sunflower,$Brassica$,apple,and pear. Keeping beehives in crop fields during the flowering period increases pollination efficiency and improves the yield,beneficial both from the point of view of crop yield and honey yield.