413 LOWER ANIMAL FARMING OCCUPATIONS

413 Lower Animal Farming Operations

This group includes occupations concerned with breeding, raising, gathering, and caring for lower animals, such as bees, worms, and snakes, and collecting their products, such as honey and venom.

413.161-010 BEEKEEPER (agric.) apiarist; bee farmer; bee raiser; bee rancher; honey producer.

Raises bees to produce honey and pollinate crops: Assembles beehives, using hand tools. Arranges with sellers for purchases of honeybee colonies. Inserts honeycomb of bees into beehive or inducts wild swarming bees into hive of prepared honeycomb frames. Places screen plug in hive entrance to confine bees and sets hive in orchard, clover field, or near other source of nectar and pollen. Forces bees from hive, using smoke pot or by placing carbolic acid soaked pad over hive to inspect hive and to harvest honeycombs. Scrapes out parasites, such as wax moth larvae, and removes vermin, such as birds and mice. Collects royal jelly from queen bee cells for sale as base for cosmetics and as health food. Destroys superfluous queen bee cells to prevent division of colony by swarming. Destroys diseased bee colonies, using cyanide gas. Burns hive of diseased bee colony or sterilizes hive, using caustic soda solution. Uncaps harvested honeycombs and extracts honey. Arranges with buyers for sale of honey. May cultivate bees to produce bee colonies and queen bees for sale and be designated as BEE PRODUCER (agric.); QUEEN PRODUCER (agric.).

413.161-014 REPTILE FARMER (agric.)

Breeds and raises reptiles for exhibition, preservation, meat, venom, and skins: Buys or captures reptiles, such as snakes and tortoises and keeps them in cages that simulate their natural habitat. Feeds and waters animals according to appropriate schedule for species. Examines reptile for signs of illness, injury or parasites, and administers prescribed treatment. Cleans animal pens, using rake and hose. Records breeding data. Kills reptiles and sells meat and skins. Extracts venom from live snakes. May specialize in raising rattlesnakes and be designated RATTLESNAKE FARMER (agric.).

413.687-018 BEE WORKER (agric.)

Attends bee colony to produce queen bees: Fits bar containing cell cups grafted with bee larvae into notched hive frame to prepare frame for placement in cell building hive in which bees form queen cells on cup base. Blows smoke into hive to quiet bees, using smoke producing device. Reads grafting date, opens hive, and inserts frame in sequence by date. Pulls out queen cell frame of specified age and places frame in incubator to continue maturation process. Opens hive and pours sugar on tops of frames to feed bees. Mixes and kneads specified types and quantities of ingredients to make bee candy. Presses piece of candy into end of queen shipping cage to provide food for queen and workers during shipping. May construct shipping cages. May select and collect queen bees meeting specified criteria for shipping.

Adapted from US Department of Labor DOT for Dictionary of Agricultural Occupations



Dictionary of Agricultural Occupations

Send questions to: gebillikopf@ucdavis.edu

Gregorio Billikopf Encina
(209) 525-6800


15 November 2004