Apiary and beekeeping
Since ancient times, the glory has been established for honey to contribute to the preservation of youth and vivacity. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) said: “If you want to preserve youth, then you must eat honey.” This is a treat, and a food product, and a medicine. One glass of warm water with honey, taken at night, will provide a restful sleep.
Honey bees are not only manufacturers of honey, but also wax, propolis, royal jelly and other products. They are the irreplaceable pollinators of the gardens.
And the economic effect brought here by bees is many times greater than from the sale of bee products.
Experiments have shown that due to cross-pollination by bees of apple blossoms the yield increases to 50%, and the fruits are larger.
An apiary is a natural dispensary. Working on it, when on a quiet fine day the air in the garden rings from bees, has a beneficial effect on the human nervous system. And, maybe, therefore, beekeepers live longer than others.
You can talk a lot about bees. But also said enough to convince the amateur gardeners in the benefits of beekeeping.
Beginning beekeepers are facing a lot of difficulties. Home is the lack of even an elementary knowledge of the biology of bees and methods of bee-keeping. To be able to properly help bees, you need to know the stages of development of the bee family by months and seasons; have an idea of how to rake a swarm and place it in a new hive; how to make layers and manage the swarming process; how and for what to feed bees in the spring and at the end of summer and how to prepare them for the winter.
Before creating an apiary, you need to assess the land around your household plot. If within a radius of 2-4 kilometers from the manor there is not enough plant-melliferous plants (clovers, meadow cornflowers, cows, motherwort, raspberry, sweet clover, sunflower, kipreja, hazel, maple,
It’s bad when there is a high-speed road near the site. Many bees, when returning to the hive with a bribe, die from a collision with transport. But if you plant shrubs, trees or put a high fence on the main road of summer, they will have to climb higher, overcoming these obstacles, which will save them.
A serious obstacle in the organization of the apiary is the neighborhood neighbors. Will they agree to live next to stinging insects? And if you get bees without their consent, then where is the guarantee that they will “sting” you less than bees? It’s worth thinking about.
It is known that the owner’s bees do not know. And no matter how you love them, they can pity you from the heart. Therefore, before you connect yourself and your family with bees, you need to check how everyone reacts to bee venom. In case of a negative reaction with bees, it is better not to contact. It will be torture. No matter how protected the open places of the skin of hands, neck, face, insects will still find a place where to stab a sting. Especially they become aggressive in late summer, when you have to protect the nest from honey lovers. True, it is necessary here to make a reservation that not all bee breeds have this character. Bees Carpathian, Caucasian and their populations in comparison with the Central Russian breed are less aggressive.
Bad, when around your backyard fields and meadows are treated with chemical preparations against weeds or pests. Together with them, your bees may die, and if they do not perish, then honey will be bad. You can, of course, organize a mobile apiary, and harvest honey somewhere in remote areas of the house, but it is difficult to master the beginner beekeepers.
If you manage to overcome all obstacles, then proceed to the apiary device.
It can be placed under the open sky somewhere on the estate in the shade of fruit trees, which will ensure a normal thermal regime in the hives. But it’s better in a special shed-bee or on the terrace. At a height of 20-30 cm from the floor, a window is cut in the wall 25 cm wide and 40 cm high. The distance between them is 1 m. To the windows from the inside, pre-arranged stands are put by beehives, which will always be in the shade. They do not get direct sunlight, and the inspection can be done at any time of the day.
The apiary should be protected from winds. The hives are set to the southeast. The houses are painted in different colors. Preferred are blue, blue and brown tones. This is necessary for a better orientation of the bees and the young queens flying to mating.
The choice of a place for an apiary is an important matter, but not the main thing. Beginning with the acquisition of beehives with frames, wax, inventory. All this can be bought in beekeeping shops. Urban or regional societies of amateur beekeepers can help, they will also give advice on the issues of interest.
Hives come in different designs – single-frame twelve frames with two store extensions, two-case twelve frames with three store extensions, two-hull decathorks, multi-hulls for 3-4 hulls, hills for 16-24 or more frames, etc. For each hive design, its rules the contents of bees.
When purchasing beehives, one should provide 1-2 spare, they will be needed as a substitute for sanitation and to accommodate young families.
When it comes to buying bees, it is better to take them in nurseries. To get bees is better in April-June depending on the zone. In the middle zone, swarming occurs in May. Roy can be caught in the forest. To do this, you need to find an old fir in a deserted place and at an altitude of 7-8 meters to the trunk to tie a box without cracks, except the entrance near the bottom. Its size is approximately the same: length – 50 cm, width – 30 cm, height – 35 cm. It remains to look from time to time whether the bee settled in the trap. In the evening, when the years of bees cease, you need to plug the slotted slot with moss and use a long rope to lower the box to the ground. That’s all. I missed only one detail. To be faithful inside the trap, you need to place frames with a wax, and rub the walls with propolis.
As soon as the apiary “works”, you will have the opportunity to observe and study the life of these amazing insects.
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