Bee breeding for beginners. Seasonal work in the apiary, types of beehives, what can you do with your own hands, how to make a swarm, where to place the hives? Those who have their own allotment of land can have bees. These insects bring many benefits, the main thing is to properly care for them.
Backyard beekeeping - pros and cons
Of course, there are undoubtedly more positive aspects in breeding these beneficial insects. Let's list them:
- Pollination. Gardeners get less harvest as fewer keep an apiary. If you have it, then you will collect more fruits of pears, apples, plums, cherries, etc., as well as vegetables: cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons, melons, etc.
- The opportunity to feast on your own honey, which is healthier than the purchased one. It can be used to make drinks, including sbiten, natural wine.
- The surplus can be sold to increase your wealth. Since few keep an apiary, such a product is in demand and will go off with a bang.
- It is helpful to work outdoors while caring for bees.
The disadvantages are:
- The need to build a 2-meter solid fence, if there are neighbors nearby.
- There is a possibility of being bitten, but with proper handling of these insects, it is almost impossible.
As you can see, there are more pluses than minuses. As for these negative aspects of beekeeping, many would like to build a fence of almost this height in order to hide from the prying eyes of neighbors. But according to the law, between sites, it should not exceed 150-170 cm (depending on the region). And so you will have a reason why it was built. So this "minus" can be turned into a plus.
Some argue that bee stings are even useful, of course, if not a whole swarm has attacked and the person is not allergic to the venom of these insects.
So, having weighed all the pros and cons, you can start studying the topic of beekeeping right now in order to make hives, learn how to properly care for flying honey plants. Then decide if you enjoy the hobby.
Beekeeping for beginners - what you need to know
For an apiary to be profitable and profitable, there must be good sources of honey collection. These insects fly 2-3 km in search of such. Therefore, first find out if there are melliferous plants in the vicinity of this radius. Since these insects collect pollen from spring to autumn, blooming is needed at this time.
For spring honey work, bees are suitable:
- willow;
- yellow acacia;
- white acacia;
- fruit trees;
- gooseberry.
The neighbors will surely be grateful to you that the bees pollinate not only your fruit trees and shrubs, but also similar plants growing in them.
They will also love that these little workers pollinate the crops that bloom early in the summer:
- raspberries;
- honeysuckle;
- the chestnut is edible.
And the bees themselves are pleased to collect nectar from other plants blooming in early summer:
- pink and white clovers;
- buckthorn;
- field maple;
- mustard.
Clover usually grows in sufficient quantities in suburban areas, so bees should have no problem collecting nectar in the early summer. Plus, you can plant mustard, which is an excellent green manure. During its flowering, bees will collect pollen, and before setting seeds on this crop, you simply mow it, embed it in the soil, and next year this area will be fertilized and ennobled.
For the same purpose, you can plant buckwheat - this is also a siderat. It blooms in the middle of summer, so the bees will collect nectar continuously throughout the season. At the same time, linden, meadow cornflower blooms. In the fields, on the plots, bees pollinate sunflowers, melons, pumpkin seeds.
If there is a forest nearby, your house insects will fly there to collect willow-tea nectar, which is a strong honey plant. In the summer will bloom: sweet clover, deaf nettle, tartar, burdock, wild radish growing in settlements.
If there are such plants near your backyard, then there are good honey lands and breeding bees in your area is a justified matter.
The next question is the choice of location. It is better to do it right at once, since in the beginning of the season it is not recommended to rearrange the hives - the bees will already get used to their location and it will be possible to change it only next spring - after the insects have hibernated.
It is good to place insect houses in the garden between fruit bushes or trees, but so that in the morning the hives are illuminated by the sun, and in the midday heat, a shadow saved from overheating.
To prevent insects from confusing homes, you can paint the houses in different colors and place them at a sufficient distance from each other. If there is not much space on the site, then turn the hives with the entrances in different directions, so it will be easier for the bees to find their own home.
After you buy the bees, you will need to place them. You can buy hives or make your own.
There are many types of such structures:
- given;
- cebro;
- pioneer;
- varre;
- root;
- farrar;
- Alpine;
- from expanded polystyrene;
- sunbed;
- Japanese;
- Ukrainian;
- two-body;
- 10, 12, 14, 16 frame;
- universal Kuznetsov;
- Glazov;
- Ozerova;
- boa;
- multi-tiered.
You will get acquainted with them in more detail a little later, but for now, find out how to make a multi-tiered one.
Breeding bees: making a bee hive
It can be made from leftover material and from waste. For example, you have replaced wooden window frames with new ones, if you have not thrown away the old ones, then use them.
You will need:
- boards;
- wooden frames;
- PVA glue;
- slats with a section of 1x2 cm;
- sandpaper.
Saw the boards into blanks 50 cm long, cut one edge exactly from all these parts.
To create the walls of the enclosures, you will need 2 boards each: 9 cm wide and 16 cm wide. Put a side stop and let the board down.
It is necessary to leave a margin of 0.5 cm, setting the size to 9.5 cm and 16.5 cm. The window bars, in this case, are also 9.5 cm wide, so they are great for making a bee hive.
Sharpen the sides at right angles. Glue the walls into a strip and tongue. The groove in the center is 1x1 cm in size.
To glue the walls, coat the PVA groove, put the slats into it, also coat the junction with glue on top.
Connect a narrow and wide board and clamp it in a clamp to secure the structure during gluing. In such a clamp 2 walls fit.
After 4 hours, these parts will dry out, remove them and glue the next pair of walls, leave them dry in the clamp.
After the specified time, remove the bumps on the glued parts with sandpaper.
The hive body will be 25 cm high, so at this stage, cut the pieces lengthwise so that they are this size.
Cut the workpieces from the ends on one side at a right angle. Having put the stopper, saw off the excess so that the side walls are 491 mm, and the rear and front ones - 445 mm each.
In order for the finished cases to stand well on top of each other, you need to make folds from the bottom and top of the walls.
At the top of the back and front walls, you need to cut a groove measuring 9x20 mm, the shoulders of the hive frames will be inserted here.
Drill the holes for the tap holes with a 2.5 cm perforated drill.
Here's how to make the hive next. It remains to assemble the case on a flat surface. For self-tapping screws, we make 3 holes at the edges of each wall.
For better bonding, coat the joints of the corners with PVA. When it's dry, you can set up frames and let the bees into their new home.
It's time to get acquainted in more detail with other options for hives, which you can also make yourself.
Beekeeping - DIY equipment
Dadant
Dadan is a popular type of hive.
To make such a device and others, you will need:
- lumber;
- glue;
- instruments;
- universal woodworking machine;
- wood-protective impregnation is not harmful to bees.
Manufacturing sequence:
- For the body and the bottom of the hive, boards with a thickness of 4 cm will be needed. In this lumber, it is necessary to cut grooves in order to then connect the parts, collecting the walls of the uliya. To connect, use a "cutter" with channels 0, 5x1 cm. You will also need strips of 0, 4x1, 8 cm.
- Align the boards using strips and cut out grooves, smearing the PVA joints. You should have 1 shield for the bottom and 4 for the walls. Now you need to connect the shields with nails (or self-tapping screws) and glue to make a body. It is coated with environmentally friendly wood impregnation or painted. But that's not all, here's how to make a beehive is given further.
- Make a liner and a roof from boards with a thickness of 1.5 cm. For ventilation, holes with a diameter of 1.5 cm are made in it. In conclusion, a waterproof impregnation is applied, and painted.
Boa
This design is also popular with bees. These hives are lightweight and compact for easy transport. The boa constitutes 10 bodies, a combined bottom and a cover.
Varre
- The body of such a house for bees is very simple to make. After all, it is a box with eight rulers with a distance of 1.2 cm between these elements. To prevent the body from becoming too rigid, the boards at the joints must be connected directly. Make the handles from 30x2x2 cm bars, glue them and fix them with three nails. Make the upper edge beveled outward, then the rainwater will not enter, but will drain.
- The roof cover is 0.5 cm less than the body, which makes it easier to remove and put on the roof. Fill the roof liner with leaves, straw, sawdust, or moss, securing these materials with a dense material.
- The bottom is made of a 2 cm thick board. To prevent rain from flowing here, make it 2 mm narrower than the body on all sides.
- The roof is made of boards of the same thickness as the bottom. You need to make ventilation on it, and then install it on the liner.
Pioneer
This design is quite simple, because it consists of only two walls - front and side. The front one consists of glass windows (9 pcs.) And slotted entrances (10 pcs.). The side guides are mounted under the cassettes, which provide ventilation and have double glazing.
There are 10 frames on each wall, which makes it possible to contain numerous families here.
Farrah
These hives consist of low, wide frames. There are 4 or more cases, each with 12 frames. This is a rather expensive option, so it did not receive much popularity in our country. But it makes sense to get acquainted with the structure of such hives.
Ruta
The female body of this device and the extension are the same size. The family lives in the lower part of the hive, and the layering in the upper part.
Alpine
It is an inexpensive hive that is easy to make. The frames have optimal sizes, so they fill well. The Alpine hive consists of 3–6 buildings, which can be easily dismantled and, if necessary, completed again.
Interestingly, the idea of the presence of only one entrance was borrowed by the creators of the Alpine from the hollow. The roof is well insulated, so it does not allow the bees to overheat, and the feeder located on the ceiling prevents condensation from forming.
Lounger
It consists of:
- a case in which there are classically 20 frames;
- from two compartments;
- large cover;
- store.
At the same time, the roof and bottom are very dense.
Japanese
These hives are very easy to make and are convenient for the insects that inhabit them. This mini-house consists of buildings with a height of 10–20 cm and an internal diameter of up to 30 cm. Each hive has only one entrance, which is located below.
Japanese hives do not need frames, since a cross is installed in the hulls, it fixes the honeycomb.
Ukrainian
The bottom of such a structure, together with the body, forms a single one-piece. The hive holds 20 frames. The wall thickness of the houses is 40 cm.
Multi-tiered
Details on how to make this type of beehive have been described above.
Double-hull
This one consists of two bodies and is intended for strong bee colonies. This hive is ideal for places where there is a high main honey harvest. To make such a house convenient to maintain, the bottom is usually made removable.
10, 12, 14 frames
Each of them has a designated number of frames. Novice beekeepers can use as much as they like.
Sixteen-frame
In the sixteen-frame hive, it is possible to install additional frames. In this design, there are 2 tap holes.
Kuznetsov's universal hive
It consists of a body on which are installed:
- base (2);
- bottom (4);
- pallet (5);
- buildings (1, 3, 11);
- cover (12);
- main building mesh (10);
- there is a dust collector on the bottom case (6).
Glazova
It is a container. Of the advantages, one can single out the fact that the bee family is comfortable in this hive. The bees living here bring a lot of nectar and pollen. The hive is very roomy. The disadvantage is that such houses are heavy, it is inconvenient to rearrange and transport them.
Ozerova
Such a hive consists of three buildings and two semi-frame extensions. The partition divides the lower case into 2 compartments, each with 2 tap holes - above and below. The second building is divided in two by a partition, each of the resulting "rooms" has its own entrance, which is done in front or on the side. The third building has no partitions. Also, in this design, 2 more extensions are arranged. Or, instead of them, they make and put the fourth building.
Seasonal bee care
This is also useful information for novice beekeepers, because everything you need to care for these insects must be done on time.
Spring
When the daytime air temperature in the shade reaches + 10 … + 12 °, on a quiet dry day, the hives are taken out of wintering to the apiary area. The beekeeper looks after his insects in the summer, finds out if there is a brood of different ages. If there are empty combs, they are removed from the hive.
If the bees have little food and do not have honey frames in stock, they are given sugar syrup. To prepare it, take:
- 1 kg of sugar;
- 1 liter of water;
- a saucepan.
Pour water into a container. Add sugar. Put the pan on the fire, keep here, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
Cool to a slightly warm temperature, in the evening, pour 500 ml syrup per family or into empty combs into the feeder.
- When steady heat comes, the air temperature will not drop below + 12 °, a more thorough revision is carried out. The beekeeper looks at the state of each family, whether there are free combs, feed stocks, transplants his pets into previously disinfected combs.
- If the uterus died during the winter, you need to plant another one with such a family, but first cover it with a cap for a day. Therefore, the breeding of bees involves the cultivation of small families, where there are reserve queens. If there is no such backup option, then another family is added to the family that has lost the main female, where there is one.
- A week after that global survey, a periodic survey of the outer limits is carried out to see when the family begins to expand. Then the beekeeper lays prepared additional combs in the hives, where the queen can lay eggs.
- When the whole hive is busy, a second is placed on it. Therefore, for beekeepers are comfortable multi-tiered type hives.
Summer
At this time of the year, the beekeeper can use the fruits of his own and bee labor - honey, and if there is a goal - to get new families with the help of artificial or natural swarming.
Swarm bees fly out of the hive, forming a kind of elongated ball, and in this form settle not far from the hive: on a fence, under the roof of a building, on a tree. The beekeeper must put these flyers in a swarm. You can buy it or do it yourself. What to make yourself, you will need:
- plywood or splint;
- fine wire mesh;
- furniture stapler;
- canvas;
- hook;
- rope.
If you are using plywood, then you need to steam it first to make it more pliable. Cut off a splint or plywood, saw off a strip 100x25 cm in size, bend it to make a triangle, fix it in this position with a stapler. Secure the mesh at the back and the canvas at the front. Fix the hook, rope from above so that the canvas can be raised and lowered.
Open the swarm and hang it slightly above the swarm. When scooping up the swarm with a long-handled ladle, place it in this device. All the bees will not get there at once, scoop several times. Call the last insects to fly into the swarm, brushing them off with a branch.
In summer, there should be plenty of free combs in the hives. In the evenings, 2 times a week or a little more often find out. Place empty honeycombs instead of frames occupied by honey.
Honey is extracted from the filled ones using a honey extractor.
Autumn and winter
During this period, honeycombs free from honey are given to bees for drying, then such honeycombs are removed. For the winter, bees are given sufficient food supplies, the hives are insulated, and the free combs are placed in the middle of the hives, here the queen will lay eggs.
Bee houses are placed in a winter house, and if it is not there, then the hives are well insulated, the temperature inside the nest should be 0 … + 4 °. These insects need peace, darkness and fresh air. They can handle a slight drop in temperature more easily than overheating.
Bees are harvested for wintering in late autumn. If you have provided them with everything they need, then winter care for the bees will be minimal, you will need:
- once or twice a month look at the temperature of the insects in the hives;
- Is the ventilation normal?
- check and sometimes clean the tap hole from pomor.
Possible problems:
- If it is noisy in the hive, the bees are buzzing invitingly, it means that they suffer from thirst. Then pour water into the bottle, dip a long cotton wick into it, place this drinker behind the insert board, and put the upper tip of the wick over the family club across the frames. This will allow the bees to drink water.
- Sometimes the hum of bees arises from the fact that the honey is candied, sour or paddy (a large admixture of organic residues in it). Then replace this food with cooked syrup. Pour it into a jar, cover that with a canvas cloth, tie it with twine. Next, the jar is quickly turned over and placed over the bee club on the frames. The norm is every 3 weeks, 1 liter of this syrup.
- At the end of winter, if the bees are noisy and the temperature is high in the hives, these houses are placed on the apiary area, even if the snow has not melted yet.
Here's how much you learned about breeding bees, about what you can do for the apiary with your own hands, and what to buy.
