Talal Jassim Almughrub thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me! Beekeeping is a very interesting topic I’m sure that our readers at Apis Cera would like to know more about.
Apis Cera: Can you tell us where you live and how old you are?
Talal: First of all I would like to thank you for giving me this chance to speak out my mind to your decent reader for this respective blog – Back again to your question I am 42 years old, and I do live in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Apis Cera: How and why did you get started with beekeeping?
Talal: Well it was before 26 years from now, when I was 16 years old, I started to help my father with bees at that time he used to work as a Bee Breeder Specialist in Ministry of Agriculture in Saudi Arabia. This day we took the beekeeping to the business level my father established – Almughrubi Apiaries Est from 7 years, the time he get retired and that was 2008. But I joined this small family business from almost 2 years as (Production Lines Manager) why did I join his establishment? Simply because I love the little Buzz, working with bees is something really fun.
Apis Cera: How many hives do you have currently and how many did you start off with?
Talal: Right now we have 500 Bee hives (Langstroth Hives) and 200 Bee hive (local hives), honestly I started by 1 but I lost it because of not being there and watching them. It is really different if you want to measure the population of the bees inside the hive, but help me to make it easier to your reader, according to the Bees calendar October & November & December & January & February & March (-The Breeding season of Bees-) each young queen can produce nearly 2000 egg daily, according to the very same calendar April & May & June & July & August & September (-The Honey Production season -) sometimes bee queen in this season produce less egg it can drop nearly to 1500 egg per day.
Apis Cera: What’s your favorite part of beekeeping?
Talal: My favorite part is the bee breeding, while the less favorite is the production of honey!
Apis Cera: Aren’t you afraid of being stung?
Talal: My father has never been afraid of being stung, but I still have a small fear of it.. I never ever show it to anyone!
Apis Cera: Are you witnessing any colony collapse in your area? Does your hives suffer this phenomenon?
Talal: Yes I remember the scene very well, it was when I received an S.O.S call from one of beekeepers, and he started to explain how the bees can’t fly, they fall down on ground, at that time the all of the apiaries are in one location which is Gazan the very south part of Saudi Arabia near the board of Republic Of Yemen, so we agree to relocate the whole apiaries from one spot to another, and we start to use Garlic as an alternative medicine instead of the chemicals.
Apis Cera: What kind of flowers, trees or plants does your environment offer to your lovely bees?
Talal: Well we produce honey from a verity sources, but the Key flowers: wild Arabian Acacia & wild Arabian Zizaphone which we called Spider.
Apis Cera: What’s your personal favorite type of honey?
Talal: My favorite honey is the Acacia honey.
Apis Cera: Where do you see yourself in one year?
Talal: Well I see myself being a leading person in the beekeeping industry in Saudi Arabia
Apis Cera: Anything else?
Talal: I would like to thank you for giving me this chance to speak out my mind, you may visit any of our accounts on social media : Twitter & Instagram & @asalmugrubi on Goolge+
