Breeding honey bees is a painstaking process. People mistakenly consider this activity simple and promising, requiring a minimum of time and money. In fact, you need to carefully prepare, study the life of bees and have at least a minimal idea of caring for them before embarking on this business. Simple tips for beginners will help you get the most out of your process.
Is beekeeping suitable for you?
The main question that a person should ask himself when embarking on breeding bees: is this activity suitable for him? Does the future beekeeper have the knowledge required for successful business? Is there a place and means for arranging hives? Like any small business, an apiary requires financial investment. They do not have to be large, but they will not be able to save money if there is a goal to get profit.
What qualities distinguish a real beekeeper?
- Endurance. Physical strength. The work implies heavy loads, and you need to be prepared for this.
- Responsibility. The life of every insect is important.
- Excellent health. The main ban is an allergy to bee venom. With such an ailment, being a beekeeper is strictly contraindicated.
Before you start breeding bees, you need to have at least minimal knowledge about the life of these insects.
You can master science with the help of manuals, training materials, but do it in advance. If you plan to start creating apiaries in the spring, sit down for textbooks in the winter, so that at the beginning of the season you will be savvy in a new business. It is recommended that you seek the support of an experienced colleague. When there is experience in caring for an apiary, this is a definite plus. If possible, it is worthwhile to learn at least one season from a knowledgeable beekeeper, and possibly earn some money as a henchman, a smoker.
Apiary location
Beekeeping is one of the varieties of agriculture that does not require much space. If you wish, you can keep hives even on a personal plot. But according to safety standards, the hives established in the village must be coordinated with others (neighbors in the area). If there is no suburban possession, the apiary can be located:
- in the garden;
- in an abandoned settlement;
- on a rented green plot;
- in outbuildings (in the attic, in the barn, roof, balcony).
The territory of the apiary should be located in a clean place away from roads, factories. Ideally, if there is a hedge of plants such as hawthorn, cotoneaster or acacia around. You can plant them or enclose the apiary with a high (2 m) fence. The choice of a place for hives is determined by the following factors that must be considered:
- The proximity of water. Small streams, ponds, but not large lakes are suitable.
- Availability of feed. Untouched areas with wildflowers and herbs.
- Sunlight. In the early morning, the rays should hit right into the summer.
- Wind. An apiary should be blown by the winds, you can not put it in ravines.
- Lack of enemies. Bees can be prevented by bears, mice, bee-eating birds and dragonflies. It is advisable to eliminate all anthills on the territory.
There are also bans on choosing a place:
- Hives should not be located on the "flight" of alien bee families.
- Roads or any obstacles (including people) should not get in the way of insects.
- A place for an apiary is not chosen in a lowland or on a hill, in open areas.
Selection and placement of beehives
Comfortable living of bees and the future result depend on the correct grouping of beehives. One insect family requires up to 40 square meters. meters. Beehives are arranged in rows, in groups of 2 or 4, or arranged in a checkerboard pattern, which saves space. Houses in the apiary are recommended to be located in accordance with the following parameters:
- 3-4 meters apart;
- at least 10 meters to the borders of the property;
- 50 m from the living quarters;
- if there are several rows, the distance between them should be 4-7 meters.
Bee hives can be bought ready-made (new or used) or brought down on their own. The optimal form is a sunbed. Such a hive is clearly visible, it will be convenient for beekeeper-debutants to observe the development of the family. Each beehive should be mounted on a special stand or stakes. The houses should be separated from the ground by 30-40 cm. If it is not possible to install dwellings in the shade of trees, you need to plant tall plants nearby: sunflower, corn. It is important that in the hives the letki are directed to the sunny side: east, southeast or south.
To help insects accurately find their hive, houses can be painted in different colors. Best of all bees distinguish yellow, white, blue.
Beehives must meet certain requirements so that insects can comfortably accommodate in them, multiply and produce honey. And also for the convenience of working with him. These are requirements such as:
- The correct design. In winter, such a hive should keep warm, but in summer it should not get very hot. The walls of the house are designed to protect from wind, rain, temperature changes. Recommended wall thickness - at least 3 cm, if the hive is single-walled.
- The house for bees should be spacious. The brood is placed inside, and the supplies of honey, as well as plant pork, are stored.
- The beekeeper provides access to the contents of the hive. It is good when the house is easily disassembled and assembled. This allows you to control stocks of honey, clean the contents of the hive. To facilitate the assembly process, all parts of the house should have the same size.
Selection and acquisition of bees
The most important step in creating a home apiary is the acquisition of bees. Insects need to be taken only from professional beekeepers, and the guarantee in this case will be a veterinary passport of insects. It is advisable to buy bees in the same region where it is planned to keep an apiary. The breeder must be reliable. In pursuit of price, some acquire insects from the former republics of the USSR, but the product is not of good quality. Insect patients, there are few individuals in the bee package, there is no brood and feed.
Like any branch of agriculture, beekeeping is largely dependent on weather conditions. Therefore, in the purchase it is worth stopping at species that are more adapted to local conditions: they are not afraid of diseases, they tolerate winter temperatures well:
- For the Central, Volga, North-West, Ural, Siberian federal districts of Russia Central Russian bees are recommended. Although some beekeepers do not want to work with them due to aggression of insects.
- In contrast to the Central Russian, the Transcarpathian breed is distinguished by its peacefulness. It is often chosen for breeding by beginners.
- You can opt for gray mountain Caucasian bees bred in the Southern, Volga, Central districts. They find honey in remote areas.
- Ukrainian and Italian bees are also popular for breeding in Russia.
For a small apiary, a few bee families (2-3) who survived the wintering are enough for a beginner. Choosing each, close attention should be paid to the uterus. It is easy to find, as it is larger than other insects. A bee should not have mechanical damage, and its brood - delayed larvae - should be located in its cell with a minimum number of passes. It is important that other bees are also healthy, with whole wings, without external defects.
Before you populate a family, you need to understand what the biological unit of an apiary consists of - a bee family or colony. After all, the uterus does not exist separately, much less reproduce, although it is the basis of the family. The queen is accompanied by a permanent retinue who guard her, feed her and care for her. In addition, the family should include:
- Bee males are drones. Their main goal in life is to find a uterus ready for mating and fertilize it.
- Working bees. Do all the work in the hive, except laying eggs.
A full-fledged family of bees consists of a uterus (one, in rare cases several), hundreds of drones and tens of thousands of working insects. The uterus can be infertile, i.e. freshly bred. On day 5, she flies out in search of a partner, fertilizes and lays eggs, which in turn are divided into two types: fertilized and unfertilized. From the former, working bees and future uterus are obtained, and from the latter, drones. If for some reason the uterus is missing, dying, or cannot bear eggs, working bees try to do this. But their entire brood is barren, the family is called a shame.
The task of the beekeeper is not just to populate the bee family and wait for the honey harvest, but to constantly monitor the process of its production and life in the hive.
Insects do not need custody, but if possible, the owner of the apiary should help them. Worker bees are able to cope with the care of the hive and uterus. But periodically the beekeeper should check the integrity of the family, the health of insects, and also monitor the condition of the bee nest, consisting of brood and stored stocks of honey. The beekeeper should not neglect such a topic as insect diseases, divided into seasonal and pathological. The latter are the most dangerous and severe, with them brood and not only is affected.
To avoid the appearance of diseases, the beekeeper should carry out prophylaxis, including the implementation of special measures carried out in an integrated manner. In the spring, before the disease has not yet had time to spread, a person should carry out planned work to maintain the apiary. And if it was not possible to prevent the onset of diseases, medical intervention is necessary.
Inventory for apiary
In addition to hives, the arrangement of an apiary and the care of it requires special equipment that helps a person in his work. The choice and purchase of all kinds of devices should be approached responsibly. Before the first insects appear, everything should be ready. It is good when the necessary tool is always in direct access. The basic inventory is divided into three groups:
- for the care of bees;
- to work in the apiary;
- for work with beekeeping products.
Bee Care Tools
Beekeeping equipment allows the beekeeper to quickly, efficiently and safely care for bees. You have to take into account a lot of nuances and look into the future when you may need a system to remove the uterus (to replace the old one), a carrying case or sublimators for treating insects from diseases. At the initial stage, for the arrangement and care of the hives and their inhabitants, such devices are necessary as:
- framework for the types of hives;
- fasteners;
- drinking bowls and feeders;
- wax (thin wax plates for honey removal);
- barrage elements for letki;
- headboards (a pair for each hive) and dividing grids;
- sinteponovye pillows for warming.
Apiary equipment
In the group of accessories for the apiary, you can include various basic necessities for working with bees and overalls. Every day, when the beekeeper interacts with insects, he uses a rich set of tools. The work will require:
- brushes;
- chisels;
- grip (forceps);
- spray;
- smoker;
- steel blade for cleaning the bottom;
- a box for carrying frames and other products.
The need for workwear cannot be diminished. Even peace-loving insects protect their hive from illegal entry from outside. They can regard any attempt of a beekeeper to reach them as an attack and attack. Therefore, a set of clothing that protects against bites is required. To protect the beekeeper, first of all, it is necessary to get a jumpsuit that covers the body, a hat with a net and a lace that fits snugly from the bottom. The suit should not fit, it is selected several sizes larger than ordinary clothes. The beekeeper needs tight gloves and closed shoes.
All elements of the beekeeper’s clothes should be sewn from light fabric, equipped with elastic bands.
Product Accessories
The works of the beekeeper and his wards end with the development and collection of the finished product - honey - and not only. One of the most important equipments - honey extractors, according to the type of drive are divided into manual and electric. A small apiary is enough for one two-frame honey extractor. To pack the finished product will require watering cans, spoons, knives, a special work surface. In addition, for the selection (pumping) of honey and its subsequent storage, you should purchase such devices as:
- strainer;
- knives
- fork for opening honeycombs;
- hole puncher;
- set of containers;
- container;
- bags and boxes for technical needs.
The secondary beekeeping product (wax, propolis, bee bread, pollen, royal jelly) is extracted in the apiary using other tools. For pollen, a dryer is needed, the wax is extracted with a wax refinery and wax press. A set of inventory is recommended to be stored in an isolated room. All presented tools greatly facilitate the work of the beekeeper. It is useful to keep track of market updates to track the emergence of modern inventory.
Methods and tips for breeding bees
If you divide the work in the apiary by season, you get the following:
- Summer is the time of active collection of feed reserves, reproduction of insects, layering.
- Autumn is the period when it is recommended to grow young bees, strong and strong, able to survive until spring.
- Winter is a time of rest, when insects are half asleep, eating feed reserves. Closer to spring, the uterus begins reddening. In the brood zone, a temperature of at least 14 degrees should be maintained, optimal for the larvae - 34. The hibernation lasts from the last to the first flyby, from November to March.
- In spring, new individuals develop, families build up strength and begin breeding.
As in any business, beekeeping has its own tricks. To make the activity not only a pleasant hobby, but also a profitable business, it is recommended to use the following tips for breeding bees. First of all, inexperienced beekeepers must decide on the breeding method. They are divided into three types (starting with the simplest, suitable for debutants in this matter):
- Half a year. One family (it must be strong) is divided in half, placed in different hives that are set at a distance. In a family that is left without a uterus, a new young individual is planted.
- Individual layering. Several frames with brood and adults are taken out of the hive and rearranged into an empty house, standing aside. The family is reinforced after the appearance of a brood, several new frames are added.
- Temporary layeringused only before the start of honey collection. New individuals are placed in one part of the multi-hive hive, after the first honey, old and young individuals are combined. The family is getting stronger.
It is important to know that keeping families separately is only possible if there is good honey collection near the apiary. Insect survival is increasing, and the quality of honey is improving.
Useful recommendations for the beekeeper:
- the apiary must always have a stock of queens necessary to replace sick, old, dead individuals;
- young uterus is needed to expand the apiary;
- in the absence of honeycombs, the uterus loses up to 600 eggs, you can not be late with moving;
- Strong bee colonies are less susceptible to disease and winter easier.
Tips for collecting and processing honey
When the bees brought the honey to condition, they close it with wax caps that do not allow air to pass through. The finished product is isolated from the external environment and is, as it were, preserved, preserving its useful qualities. You can collect only completely sealed honey, in no case before, from barely filled honeycombs or during honey collection.This results in low-quality honey, which has twice as much water as it should.
In each bee family there should be an untouchable (fodder) supply of honey - about 5 kg - the beekeeper can take the rest for himself. With the onset of a period of productive bribes, insects are given a frame with a wax, where honey will be added. Only when it ripens, the framework is removed. How to do it right? Do not forget about the following recommendations:
- to be fully equipped (protective suit);
- get from the hive in one frame;
- gently shake the bees off them, driving away smoke;
- only when all the insects leave the frame does honey get out of it;
- the product is easier to pump out on a honey separator when it has not cooled down.
After pumping, honey is filtered, particles of honeycombs, propolis, larvae and other impurities are removed from it. Then the product should be infused, especially if it is too wet. In high-quality honey - 18-21% of water. If it is more, storage periods are reduced. Honey "fits" in a container closed with gauze, in a dry, warm place. The room should be ventilated. Stir the product periodically before it reaches optimum density.
Wintering and spring revision
To maintain the integrity of the hive and the entire bee family until the next season, the process of wintering and spring revision must be approached responsibly. First of all, it is worth taking care of the ventilation inside the houses. If this is not done, dampness will appear in the hives, harmful to insects. The condition of the bees is checked every 2 weeks. They should have enough feed left, if it runs out, stocks need to be replenished.
Winter
Some breeds of bees winter in special houses - Omshaniks. They can be done independently, based on the size of the family. They are required for such breeds as: yellow, Caucasian, Ukrainian steppe, Carpathian. Central Russian bees calmly winter in street hives. You just need to take care of the comfortable conditions inside the houses.
At unstable temperatures in the region and sharp jumps from a positive day to a strong minus at night, even adapted bees should be kept in Omshanik.
Advantages of the insect content in the winter hut:
- bees consume less food;
- the service life of the hives is increased;
- You can not be afraid of temperature extremes and the death of insects.
Spring
After a successful wintering, when the weather is getting better and no frost is expected, the hives are put to their usual place. As a rule, this happens in April-May. In central Russia, the indicator is considered the beginning of dusting of gray alder and hazel earrings. There should be several revisions: the primary one, on which a quick inspection is carried out and the shortcomings are eliminated, and the main one.
At the main audit, which is desirable to carry out in calm, sunny weather (the temperature in the shade should not be lower than 15 degrees), the beekeeper carefully examines the bee colonies, identifies the shortcomings and timely eliminates them. It is recommended to keep a statement, where during the inspection to record all received data.
The beekeeper should know:
- The presence of the uterus in the family and its quality (is it not sick).
- The number of brood.
- The total number of individuals (whether they are enough to feed offspring).
- Availability of feed reserves.
The audit process includes repairing the framework, removing damaged honeycombs, reducing the nest and replenishing feed reserves, and replanting a new uterus (if the old one has not survived wintering). A little later, when the weather settles, the beekeeper should completely clean the nest and disinfect the hives. You can determine the strength of the family by counting the number of individuals. If insects occupy at least 6 streets in the hive, this is about 1.5-1.6 kg of bees, such a family will develop well in the spring and guarantee good honey collection in the new season.
Having taken note of the advice on beekeeping and, having received a successful first collection, the novice beekeeper should constantly improve in a new business. Without knowledge, success cannot be achieved. Replenishing information about the life of bees, listening to the advice of experienced colleagues and acquiring modern insect care products, you can eventually become an experienced beekeeper. Today, this activity is still in demand, and a significant segment of the industry is left to novice beekeepers.