A hive is a man-made housing for bees. In it, bees build a nest consisting of wax honeycombs. In cells of honeycombs, they raise brood (their children), collect and leave food supplies - honey and bee bread, grow queens and drones, filling the cells with special milk. In the streets - the gaps between the cells move and accommodate bees. The hive ensures the preservation of the heat generated by the bees, protects the nest of bees from the adverse effects of the external environment.
It is known that in ancient times, caves, rock decays, underground cavities and mountains, tree hollows were the dwellings of wild bees. Archeological data and literary monuments of history indicate that wild honey bees were domesticated by humans about 6 thousand years ago. Already in the ancient world, beekeeping was widespread. For keeping and breeding bees, primitive non-separable hives such as sapets (woven from grass and straw) and clay vessels of various shapes (Greece, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, China, India, etc.) were made. Back in the 5th century BC, the ancestors of modern Armenians in Armenia kept bees in clay and wicker beehives (woven sapetki). In ancient Rome, about 2000 years ago, non-separable board beehives were common. In the middle of the 5th century, due to the crisis of the ancient world, beekeeping fell into decline, and the resettlement of bees in Europe continued naturally. Impenetrable ancient forests with rich melliferous vegetation and low population created at that time very favorable conditions for the life of bees in wooden hollows, especially on the territory of Belarus and the Polesie region. Along with hunting for animals and forest game, the widespread use of both onboard beekeeping also received a craft, making beekeeping products the payment unit of the ancient inhabitants and their trade routes, the economy of that time.
Side tree- a tree on the root, in which a hollow is made for one or several families. The name "board" comes from the word "board", that is, a recess hollowed out inside the tree. Hollow trees were often chosen for this purpose. A certain number of boards, scattered in a certain space and belonging to one owner, was called a side land (fair, well-groomed). Settlements began to appear near the boarders, the inhabitants of which mainly belonged to the class of beekeepers, like artisans and merchants, but often representatives of the privileged society of the “nobility”, especially the local gentry and former military men, also became beekeepers. The beekeepers learned to expand natural hollows, and then to produce artificial ones in trees. However, gouging the sides took a lot of time and labor. Hollow-borti, arranged in trees at the root, were the first beehives created by man. Separate bushings were arranged in the “sides”, and “crosses”, or snouts, were arranged in its upper inner part for better attachment of the honeycombs. Onboard beekeeping has been recorded for more than a millennium on the lands of Belarus, and was developed up to the 18th century inclusive. At a later stage of development, beekeeping became widespread in its more “artificial” form, when the sides cut from the trunks were placed on platforms around the tree. As a rule, they were tied up and fastened in various ways to trees at a certain height, and working platforms were arranged under them to facilitate work with bees. Being separate from the growing tree, such boards became the prototype of a non-separable hive-log (deck). Lowered to the ground and stacked in a small area, they laid the foundation for the organization of well apiaries, which formed the basis for the existence of beekeeping as an industry.
With the development of industry and the change in agricultural technology, deforestation has increased. This forced the owners of apiaries to bring their bee farms closer to their homes.
Sapetka(from Tur. sepet, Persian > Tur., Crimean-Tat. säpät, Circassian - basket "sapet") - a domed wicker hive without a bottom, used in the lowlands and foothills of the North Caucasus, Subcarpathian Rus, Polissya, Lakeland of Belarus and northern regions of the Baltic countries, including Germany. By function, this product is a non-separable housing for bees - a hive made of reeds, straw or thin willow twigs, often coated with clay. At present, it is practically not used, but it is found in some places along with decks and boards in beekeeping hedges.
Sapetka is considered the most ancient hive. In the Caucasus, in the foothills of the North Caucasus, in Subcarpathian Rus, beekeepers from time immemorial have bred bees in sapetkas - domed baskets without a bottom, smeared with clay and manure. They were woven from flexible willow rods - vines (such a sapetka was called a vine) or young hazel shoots, from straw. Sometimes they sculpted from clay, like jugs. Often, clay hives were called Turkish, although they were common in Greece, and in neighboring Afghanistan, and in Iran. These primitive hives protected bees and their nests from rain and wind, from heat and cold. Since ancient times, the Greeks kept bees in hives woven from vines, smeared with clay. It is believed that the mountaineers of the Western Ciscaucasia borrowed Sapetka the Greeks, whose settlements once flourished on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. In Polissya, the Poleshuks hunted their honey trade also in sapets woven from wicker, from straw, from sedge. As a rule, small, 70-80 centimeters high, about half a meter wide, contained 5-9 combs.
On the In apiaries, sapets were placed close, almost close to each other, often on a common bedding-stand or directly on the ground under one roof of sedge or straw. The bees in the sapettes - those very cramped and small spaces - turned out to be uncontrollable. They were characterized by unrestrained swarming. Families released 6-7 swarms one less than the other. Quite often the swarms themselves swarmed, and after the end of the swarming, again, for the second time, they entered the state of swarming and began to swarm. All care consisted of catching swarms, planting them in hives and selecting honey. When honey was taken, the sapetka (kosh) was placed on its side or turned upside down and pieces of honeycombs were cut out with a special knife.
«BEE FENCE»
Apiculture Schneverdingen Northern Germany. A bee fence (also Immenzaun, Immentun or Lagd) is a covered, semi-open apiary where beekeepers (mostly in northern Germany) set up their hives to protect them from the weather.
Non-separable hives
The log in its structure resembles a log-round log about 1.5 m long. It was made from a thick stump of a log tree, the filling of which was hollowed out. A manhole was sawn out in a log, covered with one or two bushings (longs) with tapholes in them. Through the hole they examined the bee nest and took honey. The upper part of the log was called the head, the lower part was called the fifth. In the “head” of the log, crosspieces were fastened from the inside, to which the bees attached the honeycombs that made up the bee nest. Logs were installed on the "heel" directly on the ground. Its upper part (file) was covered from rain with birch bark or reed caps. The work of a beekeeper in logs was reduced to planting swarms, breaking out honeycombs and smoking bees by whole families after the honey collection. With the invention of the frame, attempts were made to improve the logs: removable covers were arranged, and rulers (bars, planks, rods) were attached under them, sometimes frames were inserted inside.
In the meadow, “valley” and steppe parts of Belarus and Polissya, as well as Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Lithuania and Latvia, instead of bulky logs, later light ones appeared, knocked down from boards or round bottomless hollows.
In the Caucasus, the sapetka and a kind of log-bed (in mountainous and wooded areas) have long been widespread. In hollows - bottomless and sapets, the nest of bees was examined from below. Caring for bees in non-separable hives was difficult due to the fact that it was impossible to inspect each comb separately, which means that it was impossible to determine the state of the nest and to provide the necessary assistance to the bees in a timely manner.
When extracting honey, it was necessary to destroy the “buildings of bees”. After extracting honey from the combs, it was no longer possible to use them again. A hive with a non-separable nest often remained undersized and did not allow getting from bees a large amount of the main products of that time - honey and wax. Non-separable hives were gradually replaced by collapsible ones, which allowed a person to know the life of bees and skillfully use them for their own purposes.
разборные ульи
As you know, the first attempt to move to collapsible hives was the use of planks (rulers, bars) in log hives, to which bees attached honeycombs. In 1789, the book beehive was invented by the Swiss Hubert. It consisted of rectangular wooden frames that resembled the pages of a book. The frames, on the one hand, were connected by movable loops. When the frames were closed, the planks simultaneously served as the walls of the hive. However, the book hive, due to its imperfection, was supplanted by the frame hive.
A - general view; B - disassembled.
The priority of the invention of the world's first frame hive (sleeve hive) belongs to an outstanding figure of the local beekeeping first half of XIX в. P. I. Prokopovich. His invention became known to the world a year after the Patriotic War of 1812. Prokopovich's hive was a narrow tall box with retractable frames in which bees built honeycombs. Like the modern frame hive, it had a square section in diameter. The nest in the Prokopovich hive was non-separable and consisted of three or four connected compartments, each of which was covered in one of the sides with separate wooden bushings (from them it received the name of the bushing hive). The other three walls were blank. The walls were made of boards 5-7 cm thick. The notch was placed on the front wall. The hive had an upper and lower bottom. The inner part of the hive was divided by two partitions into three compartments. The upper compartment, or magazine part, was separated from the middle compartment by a board with cuts, reminiscent of a modern dividing grid. The bees passed freely through the cut in the board, but the queen could not enter the store. Wooden frames 245X175 mm in size were moved into this compartment, placed on the grate and freely removed.
In the middle of the partition separating the middle compartment from the lower one in the hive, a small closing square hole with a false board was made; it was removed during the expansion of the nest for the passage of bees to the lower compartments. The board was used in the care of bees as a movable upper bottom of the hive, limiting the volume of the nest after cutting the honey. This design of the hive made it possible for the beekeeper to more accurately intervene in the life of the bee family, to have a store for obtaining honey free from brood, to renew and expand the nest. The partitions were inserted into grooves made in the front and rear walls of the hive, or they were laid on nailed planks to the walls from the inside. About his hive P.I. Prokopovich later wrote the following: "... having made it with my own hands and populated it with bees, I did not encounter any inconvenience in it ...".
1 - frames; 2 - tap holes; h - bushings; 4 - partition with cuts for the passage of bees; S is a grate separating the sleeve from the socket; 6—board for installing the hive.
Despite the fact that Prokopovich's hive was not completely collapsible, and the frames occupied only the upper part of the hive, his invention put an end to the previously existing swarm beekeeping system, when bee colonies were destroyed in non-collapsible hives for honey extraction. Prokopovich himself kept about 3,000 (and according to some sources, 10,000) bee colonies in such hives. Although Prokopovich's hive is not was widely used, the idea invested in its design - the mobility of the honeycomb enclosed in a frame - was the beginning of the improvement of domestic and foreign hives.
In the 40s of the 19th century, S. D. Valvatiev in Ukraine, as well as, independently of him, the Slovak Dzerzhon in Germany, designed a ruler hive. The rulers in it were separate, the bees attached honeycombs to them along wooden guides. It was possible to inspect such a hive by first separating the combs with a knife from the side walls. This caused inconvenience, in connection with which the ruler hives were soon replaced by frame hives.
In 1852, the famous German beekeeper Berlepsch created his own frame hive, also a box with three compartments, but instead of separate bushings, this hive had a hanging door. It differed from the Prokopovich hive mainly in that it was a frame hive, and the frames were removed from the side “flat” (frame size 222X185 mm). This complicated the work with the bees, because in order to inspect the outermost frame from the door, it was necessary to remove all the frames previously located behind it.
The widespread use of frame hives became possible when the outstanding American beekeeper Langstroth, based on the biological characteristics of bees, established the main dimensions of the hive. In 1851, he designed the original hive, which had a removable roof and frames that were taken out upwards, this was of great convenience in working with bees. About his design, he wrote: "I am convinced that the use of this framework will give a new impetus to beekeeping, facilitating the culture of bees and increasing their profitability."
1 - Dzerzhona; 2 - Berlepsha; 3 - Langstroth; Mr. Cullandy's "Golden Hive"; 5 - bell beehive Vitvitsky; 6 - Dubini's hive; 7 - Stewarton hive (1819) with narrow slats and glass strips between them; “—Kovan's hive; 9 - beehive de Beauvois.
That is exactly what happened. Langstroth's invention was a great advance. Later, his hive was improved by the manufacturer of beekeeping equipment Root and became widespread under the name "Langstroth-Root hive", and in the Western Hemisphere, especially in the USA, under the name "Root hive" with a "rute frame". Initially, the Langstroth hive contained eight frames measuring 441x232 mm, but later - Ruth increased the number of frames in it to ten, and the length of the frame to 447 mm and became изготовлять его многокорпусным. Размер рамок в гнезде и надставках улья Рута — являются ценным достоинством и уникальным изобретением. Особенность первых конструкций улья Лангстрота заключалась в обилии декоративных украшений (коробки со стороны летка, защищающего его от солнца и ветра, галерейка на резных колоннах и др.). Рут отбросил в конструкции все излишнее, удорожающее стоимость улья. At the same time, he replaced the magazine extension with the same body as the nest, increasing the volume of the nest. Unlike the Langstroth hive, the Ruth hive has a special bottom with a landing board. All frames are equipped with permanent Hoffmann dividers. The letok of the hive is made in the entire width of the front wall and is regulated by liners. The roof of the hive, as a rule, is single-layered and covered with iron (Fig. 8, A). In the Soviet Union in general and in Belarus in particular, this hive was somewhat modernized and spread mainly in the Kuban of Russia and in the southeastern part of Polissya. The frame was shortened in length by 12 mm, and in height up to 230 mm. At present, the multi-hull hive has undergone significant changes and is being successfully introduced in the apiaries of our country, replenished with various author's modifications of beekeepers.
In the Soviet Union in general and in Belarus in particular, this hive was somewhat modernized and spread mainly in the Kuban of Russia and in the southeastern part of Polissya. The frame was shortened in length by 12 mm, and in height up to 230 mm. At present, the multi-hull hive has undergone significant changes and is being successfully introduced in the apiaries of our country, replenished with various author's modifications of beekeepers.
The invention of a collapsible frame hive, as well as the appearance in 1857 of artificial foundation (I. Mering) and in 1865 of a honey extractor (Grushka) made beekeeping an industrial branch of agriculture, radically changing the technique of beekeeping. At the same time, the appearance of frame hives with removable roofs and upwardly removable frames caused in the second half of the 19th century. a wave of new inventions. So, the hives of Chishayer, Covan (England), Beauvois (France) (Fig. 6), Dubiny, Al-Berti (Italy), Falz, Quinby (USA) gained popularity. Especially many hives of new designs appeared in Russia. So, at one time the beehive-riser of F.S. Mochalkin with the highest frame (750X245 mm), the sunbed of P.M. Borisovsky with a frame of 310X562 mm, the hives of Polish beekeepers I. Dolinovsky with interlocking frames and K. Levitsky with a narrow-high frame (Fig. 7). On the basis of the beehives Levitsky, Borisovsky, Dolinovsky, a modern beehive-lounger typical of the west of the USSR was later designed. At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. the hive of the Russian beekeeping society with a frame of 430X240 mm called "Petersburg", as well as the hives of M.A. Dernov with double front and rear and single side walls, the nomadic hive of V.D. some other models (Fig. 7).
The hive of Dadan-Blatt was very widely known. The Frenchman Dadan, having in his apiary an 8-frame Quinba hive (frame size 475X300 mm), in 1891 increased the number of frames in it to 11. The Swiss Blatt reduced the length of the frame to 435 mm. In this form, under the name of the “Dadan-Blatt hive,” he penetrated into the Russian Empire. The Dadan-Blatt hive (Fig. 8) has no advantages over domestic hives and the Ruth hive. On the contrary, it has a nest that is insufficient for the normal development of the family, and nesting and shopping frames of different sizes. However, thanks to the active propaganda by the well-known figures of beekeeping G.P. Kandratyev and M.A. Dernov, the Dadan-Blatt hive through published beekeeping magazines and its mass production in the “Vyatka hive workshops”, which fulfilled orders for hives for all of Russia, became widespread. Из ульев других конструкций следует отметить лежак француза Лайанса (рис. 8, Д), который до изобретения украинского лежака широко использовался русскими пчеловодами. Улей представляет собой ящик, в котором вмещается 20—26 рамок размером 330X427 мм. В передней стенке сделаны два нижних летка. При необходимости улей можно разгородить на два изолированных друга пространства. Внутри улья сверху есть неподвижные разделители на снозах, между которыми плотно ставятся рамки. Такие же разделители устроены и внизу, по бокам длинных стенок улья. Благодаря этому рамки на одинаковом расстоянии one from the other are fixed in a vertical position. As a result of this decision, the frames in the hive are held tightly, which is of great importance when transporting bees. The bottom of the hive is separate. The nest of the hive can be limited on both sides with diaphragms and insulated. The roof of the hive is often flat, rarely gable. The main disadvantage of the hive is its bulkiness. This type of hive is widespread in Western Europe.
At one time in Russia, the hive of the American Hand (Fig. 8, B) with the lowest frame (450X125 mm), adapted mainly for the production of sectional honey, was also successful. A feature of the Handa hive is that the frames enter the body close between the walls. Therefore, when working with it, you do not need to disassemble the cases, since each of them, when removed, is clearly visible through the streets.
Currently, a lot of work is underway to further improve the frame hives, new high models are appearing.
Rice. 7. Hives of the Russian beekeeping society:
1 - Borisovsky; 2 - Mochalkina; 3 - Levitsky; 4 - "Petersburg"; 5 - Dolinovsky; 6 - Mordovtsev; 7 Andriyashsva; 8 - Ukrainian hive; 9 - Slavic hive.
Rice. 8. Foreign frame hives that have become widespread in Russia:
A - Ruta; B - Khanda; B - Dadan - Blatt of the original design; 1 - Dadana - Blatt improved; 1 - stand; g - arrival board; l - bottom; -/—tray insert; 5—body: 6—shop (in Ruta's hive for honeycomb); 7 - internal ceiling; " - roof; D - Lyans lounger.
MAIN TYPES AND DESIGNS OF FRAME HIVES, COMMON IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE FORMER USSR, IN THE WEST OF EURASIA
All frame hives can be divided into vertical (risers) and horizontal (beds). The vertical hives include hives, the volume of which, if necessary, increases upwards by setting additional or extension bodies. The height of such a hive, built up with cases or extensions, is greater than the length and width. Horizontal, on the contrary, include hives, the volume of which does not increase upwards, but to the side. The width of horizontal hives is always greater than the height. Representatives of such hives are loungers. They are distributed mainly in the south of the country. Vertical hives, primarily multi-hull hives, have a number of advantages: they generally meet the biological requirements of bees and the methods of modern beekeeping to a greater extent. When working with multi-hull hives, the beekeeper does not operate with separate frames, but with whole bodies and extensions, as a result of which the productivity of beekeepers is significantly increased. The use of vertical hives allows you to create families of great strength, which contributes to an increase in honey yields. The disadvantage of all vertical hives is the inconvenience of their use for the maintenance or assistants of spare queens. In addition, hives, consisting of a large number of buildings, are unstable, especially during transportation. When working with bees in double-hull and multi-hull hives without special means of mechanization, the beekeeper has to lift and carry heavy bodies.
In horizontal hives (beds), it is easier to keep helper queens and layerings next to the main family, there is no need to work with separate heavy cases, it is easier to select honey and collect bee nests for the winter. The expansion of nests in such hives is carried out more evenly by substituting additional frames on the side of the nest. Thanks to a blank side or extension, the thermal regime is better preserved in them, since dense insulation is laid over the nest; it is convenient to insulate nests on the sides. Therefore, bees winter better in beehives, especially in the wild. At the same time, the beds are bulky and make it difficult for bees to move around.
Multihull hive. Widely distributed in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America. In recent years, it has been successfully introduced in the apiaries of Ukraine. As practice shows, this type of hive meets the modern requirements of beekeeping to a greater extent. When keeping bees in such hives, in combination with the mechanization of labor-intensive processes, work on caring for bees is simplified, which leads to an increase in productivity. If we look at these box hives in historical retrospect, we will find in the American hives the roots of European beekeeping, which are well preserved there. Until now, in the southern states of the Atlantic coast of the USA (New World), there are still apiaries created by settlers from Europe (Old World) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, consisting of box hives. Such roughly knocked together hives are non-separable, they do not have nesting frames. The width of the box hives varies from 30 to 98 cm, the height is from 45 to 60 cm. Inside them, two transverse bars are strengthened to support the combs, which the bees build in the form of “irregular layers”.
Hive Requirements
The hive must meet two basic conditions - to serve as a good housing for bees and be comfortable when working with bees. As housing for bees, it must reliably protect their nest from precipitation and sudden changes in external temperature, but at the same time be well ventilated.
It is also necessary that the hive be spacious enough, and its design would allow, depending on the time of year, to change the volume of the nest: in spring and autumn, reduce it, and increase it as the family develops and with the onset of honey flow.
Finally, no matter what the type of hive is and no matter how the frames are placed in the nest, it is always important to maintain certain dimensions in it, based on the biological characteristics of the bees.
In hives of all types, the following should be absolutely certain: 1) the distance between the mediastinum of two nesting combs is 37.5 mm and the size of the streets (passages for bees) between the combs is 12.5 mm; 2) the distance between the side bars of the frames and the walls of the hive - 7.5 mm; 3) space between the upper bars of the frames of the lower case and the lower bars of the frames of the upper or case of the magazine extension (above the frame space) -8 mm.
More convenient when working with bees are hives, the same parts of which are interchangeable, that is, they are suitable for all other hives of the apiary, being modular elements, as well as hives adapted for roaming with bees for honey collection and pollination of crops (equipped with sufficient ventilation and devices for fastening separate parts). In addition, the hive must be strong, light, simple in design and economical to manufacture.
A good hive made from well-maintained and seasoned wood can last 40 years or more if used properly. The longer the life of the hive, the lower the cost of honey obtained in the apiary. Hives are made from softwood, softwood, sieve, reeds, straw, pressed shavings, and other, usually local, materials. Some artificial materials, such as environmentally friendly plastic and composite materials, are also promising for these purposes.
Parts (elements) of hives
Depending on the system and design, the frame hive consists of one or more cases, one or more magazine extensions, a bottom (bottom), a roof, a cover, a flight board, more or less frames, a wooden (sometimes cloth) ceiling, one or two diaphragms (separating boards), front boards, under nesting grids and bases (racks), as well as a pollen trap, weeding grids and mats, feeders and other devices. Each part of the hive has its purpose.
The main part of the hive that houses the nest of bees. It is a box without a bottom and a lid. In the upper edge of the front and rear walls of the case, as a rule, a fold is chosen for hanging the nest frames, resting on it with their hangers. In addition to the frames, the body of the hives of many designs includes diaphragms and a “street partition”. On the front wall of the housing, in its upper part, there is a notch (upper) for the departure of bees from the hive and entry into it upon return. It can be round or slit-shaped. The cases of sunbeds of some designs have a blank side protruding above the nest. A wooden grate is inserted into the bottom of the nest box to limit the construction of comb tongues, ventilation, and facilitate the access of bees to nesting frames with combs.
According to the devicethe same as the body, but different in height. Shops in height, as a rule, are twice as low as the buildings. Half-frames are placed in the extension. The magazine (extension) is designed to increase the volume of the nest, mainly during intensivehoney collection. Depending on the size of the bribe, one or more stores are placed on the hive (on top of each other).
In hives of all designs, it is removable. Worn over a case or magazine and protects the nest of bees from rain, heat and cold, as well as from enemies and pests. Street beehive roofs can be flat, single-pitched and gable. Before putting on the roof, a canvas is covered over the frames or a ceiling is laid from wooden planks 10 mm thick, and then insulation or a pillow-mat, because when examining the nests of bee colonies, the roof of the hive is often removed and put on. It should be as light and strong as possible.
It limits the body from below. The bottom can be separate or deaf, connected to the nested body. Both of them consist of a shield knocked down from boards and a strapping of beams. A slot was made in the front bar of the bottom, forming a lower notch 20 mm high. The dimensions of the notch in length are regulated by special liners. On the side of the lower notch, the bottom has an arrival board, on which the bees sit, returning to their hive after flying out for a bribe. The top of the notch sometimes has a visor made of wood, which prevents raindrops from entering and shades the notch from the sun. Arrival boards, as a rule, are made folding. When transporting bees, a folding arrival board covers the lower entrance of the hive. The bottoms of most existing hive designs have two support bars each. Sometimes the bottom is combined in its function with a pollen collector (a ladder for collecting pollen) and has additional retractable elements. The hygienic bottom has an inclined floor. Modern bottoms also often use a mite control net and an inspection sliding board. The dona of high-tech modern hives can be installed on scales, or have built-in scales to monitor the weight of the hive and its filling with honey, the development of the bee colony.
According to their purpose, nesting and magazine frames (half-frames) are distinguished. Bees build honeycombs in them. Frames must be brought down as true as possible. If, during a longitudinal skew, they touch the wall of the hive, then the bees will glue them to the wall with propolis. With a lateral skew, the correct distance between the cells will be violated. In such cases, the bees build bridges between the combs from wax, fastening them, which prevents the nest from being dismantled. In addition, in such combs, the number of cells suitable for scarring queens decreases.
In cross section, the upper bars and side bars of the frames of typical hives have the same dimensions: the width of the upper bar and side bars is 25 mm (only in the upper part, the side bars of the frames of multi-hull hives are expanded to 37 mm), the thickness of the upper bar is 20-22 mm, the side bars - 10 mm. The lower bar has a section of 15X15 mm. Half-frames differ from nested frames by a lower height of the side slats. The side planks of the frames are nailed to the upper and lower bars (preferably 35 mm). In American multi-hull hives, the slats of the frames are connected to each other with spikes and lugs. To knock down frames, use a special template or pattern. Before stretching the frames, they are stretched with wire or reinforced with rods to provide reinforcement for the honeycomb. The transition to mass production of reinforced foundation has significantly increased the productivity of beekeepers. Honeycombs built by bees on reinforced foundation are much stronger than usual, which is especially important when traveling with bees and extracting honey from honeycombs. In this regard, the frame designed at the Institute of Beekeeping of the USSR is of interest. To fix the ends of the wire protruding from the honeycomb in the frame, a quarter was chosen along its entire length in the upper bar of the frame. The ends of the wire embedded in it are pressed with a separate bar, the dimensions of which are 12x10x288 mm. In the lower bar of the frame, a tongue passes along its length, where a key 4X8X288 mm in size is inserted. With it, the lower ends of the wire protruding from the honeycomb are pressed into the tongue, as a result of which the latter is stretched in the frame. Both the pressure block and the dowel are fixed in the frame with nails. It takes no more than 15-20 seconds to equip one frame reinforced with honeycomb.
They are made from chips 450 mm long, 2 mm thick and 35-40 mm wide. Frame size 110x110 mm (sometimes divided into additional modules). An incision is made on one side to strengthen the artificial foundation. Four sections are inserted into the store frame (frame for the store case), into each of which, after being rebuilt by bees, about 400 g of honey is placed during honey collection. On both sides of the frame, cutouts are made for the passage of bees. Sectional frames made of plastic are widely used, but they are less environmentally friendly.
Frame separators- details of the frames, without the use of which the transportation of bees in the hives to the honey collection during roaming becomes more difficult, because the frames swaying during the movement of the transport crush the bees (even the comb may break). In the practice of beekeeping, there are different types of separators. Most often, beekeepers use wooden blocks measuring 12x15x100 mm, which, when preparing the nest for transportation, are inserted from above between the side planks of the frames (on both sides). Stuffing such blocks on a bar with a distance between them equal to the width of the side bars, it is possible to insert all the bars between the frames at the same time, thereby accelerating the “packing of the nest” of the bee colony before transportation. For a complete package nests of each family require two such strips with blocks. Separators are also used in the form of iron buttons with a thickened cone-shaped head, which are pierced on the side bars of the frames. Four dividers are driven into the frame at a certain height: two into each side bar (on one and the other side of the frame).
Street frames with permanent Hoffmann dividers are more convenient. Dividers are an extension of the side rail of the frame up to 37 mm in its upper third. Placed side by side, such frames are tightly adjacent to each other and ensure their stability during the transportation of the hive.
Mortgage board, or diaphragm, is used to separate the nest of the bee family from the free part of the body in those cases when the bee family does not occupy the entire nest body of the hive. The diaphragm should freely enter the housing and be removed from it, but not have slots on the sides through which heat would escape in winter or heat would enter in summer. Under the board leave a passage for the bees. The shields of the inserted boards are made from individual boards 15 mm thick. So that they do not warp, two strips 20 mm wide and 15 mm thick are nailed to the end edges of the assembled shield. It is better to connect planks with a shield into tongue and groove. A support bar 470 mm long is nailed over the shield, on which the diaphragm is suspended on the folds of the hive.
When keeping layers or helper queens in the same hive with the main family, it is necessary to fence off part of the nest box with a partition (most often in sunbeds). For this, some beekeepers nail planks to the walls and bottom of the hive so that grooves are formed (or choose grooves in the walls of the hive), into which a partition board is then inserted. However, such partitions are inconvenient: they cannot be moved in the hive when it is necessary to increase the nest of the formed layer or nucleus (small nest). This disadvantage can be eliminated by using movable plug-in partitions. Some beekeepers stuff rubber bands or reinforce rubber strips to the sides of the plug-in partitions from below. Due to the elasticity of the rubber, the baffle is tightly adjoins the walls and bottom of the hive. If necessary, it can be easily rearranged. Rubber - bees do not stick to the hive, which facilitates the use of this board.
It is known that on hot summer days, bees and larvae breathe heavily, releasing carbon dioxide and water vapor. As a result of this, as well as the evaporation of water from the nectar, stuffiness is created in the hive. The acceleration of air exchange frees the bees from excessive work on ventilation of the nest. Hive ventilation is passive and active. In the first case, air exchange, and hence the removal of excess moisture, occurs through the walls of the hive, cracks and the ceiling. In the second, a stream of air passes through the upper and lower entrances by the bees themselves, and an increased air exchange is carried out through the upper entrance. Of great importance in the ventilation of the hive is the sub-frame space, the size of which in typical hives is 20 mm, however, the additional sub-frame space equipped with a wooden grate improves ventilation, and the presence of a bottom with a size of 10-17 cm makes the microclimate of the hive more favorable. For air exchange under the roof and in the side walls, and in the attic, ventilation holes are arranged in the form of slots (slots) or hinged bushings. The latter are covered from the inside with a metal mesh.
Typical hives
The type of hive is characterized by its design features. These include: the size of the frame, its shape, the number of frames, their placement, constructive changes in other parts, giving the hive a peculiar appearance. The type of hive both directly and indirectly affects the productivity of the beekeeper, especially the possibility of introducing progressive technology for keeping bee colonies. The type of hive, the perfection of its design affect the productivity of bee colonies and the economics (profitability) of beekeeping (due to the cost of hives, placement of different numbers of them per unit volume of a winter hut or in the back of a car when transporting bees, etc.). When choosing the type of hive, one should take into account primarily local climatic and honey-bearing conditions, the biological characteristics of the breed of bees, and also be guided by the results of many years of comparative analytical studies of different types of hives under these conditions. The experience of advanced beekeepers of state and collective farms back in the USSR testifies to the inexpediency of hasty replacement of hives of one type by hives of another without first revealing their advantages and without creating conditions under which these advantages could be used. Hasty replacement of hives in such cases leads to unjustified expenses for their purchase. So, for example, in the conditions of the North-West and Siberia, other regions of the country with a harsh climate - the hive should be warmer and its walls thicker. Where frequent transportation of bees to honey plants (roaming) is practiced, it is more expedient to give preference to lightweight hives. In areas with stable high honey yields, beehives are used, more voluminous and stationary, or nomadic wagons on trailers with stationary beehives.
Currently, the hives of the following types are most widely used in Belarus:
- multihull, consisting of three or more identical buildings;
- two-hull, the second body of which can be composed of two magazine extensions, equal in volume to one body (their number can be increased if necessary);
- lounger for 16-20 frames with a magazine extension;
- double-walled 14-frame with two magazine extensions;
- 12-frame hive with magazine extension;
- 16-frame hive with magazine extension;
- Polish hive-lounger (Ukrainian, Belarusian);
- cores and small hives for 6 frames;
- decks, boards.
Beekeeping in Poland and Belarus has preserved this type of hives, as well as technology, to this day and is included in the UNESCO World Intangible Heritage List in 2020, being the most ancient practice of this type of beekeeping and the only one on the planet today.
In the national and international list of intangible assets, it is included in the inventory:
"Forest Boarding of Belarus"
Code (in the State List): 33АК000112, date of inclusion: 23/11/2017, Council protocol number: Minutes of the meeting of the Belarusian Republican Scientific and Methodical Council on Historical and Cultural Heritage dated November 15, 2017 No. 11-01-01/12. Resolution of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus dated November 23, 2017 No. 72,
UNESCO: Code (in Inventory): НКС-180222/1, 2020 - the element of the National Cultural Heritage "Culture of Polish and Belarusian Airmen" was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. / Tree beekeeping culture, Poland and Belarus, Inscribed in 2020 (15.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/tree-beekeeping-culture-01573https://livingheritage.by/nks/7191/,