What is a hive. See what "Beehive" is in other dictionaries. How the hive works: dimensions and additional details

Non-separable hives

Under natural conditions, bees live in hollows of trees, less often in rock crevices and other suitable natural volumes.

In the forests on the territory of Russia, honey and wax have been mined from hollows since ancient times. People have long learned to make artificial hollows for colonization by bees - borti. The remains of onboard beekeeping could be found at the end of the 19th century in the forests of Bashkiria. Often the hollows, along with the bee colonies, were sawn out of wood and transferred to some other place. When these boards in the form of decks began to be collected in one place for the convenience of protection and maintenance, there was a transition from beekeeping to beekeeping.

In the southern treeless regions, bees were kept in sapetkas - hives made of twigs or straw, smeared with clay. In the steppe regions, boxes were also made for bees from boards or hollowed out thin-walled hollows in which they kept bees.

Bort, deck, hollow, sapetka were non-separable hives. The bees built them up with honeycombs, and a person could get inside the nest (for example, to select honey) only by destroying the bees' dwelling.

Collapsible hives

ruler hives

The transitional system from a non-separable hive to a collapsible hive was a ruler hive, in which a row of wooden rulers was laid in parallel under a removable cover so that the bees built a separate comb under each ruler. By cutting the combs from the sides and thus separating them from the side walls, it was possible to carefully remove an individual comb without destroying it. However, ruler hives were not widely used and were only a transitional step to modern frame (collapsible) hives, which made it possible to control the life of bees.

frame hives

Invention of the frame hive

Frame with bees. Sealed combs are visible: in the upper part with honey, in the central part - with brood

The first frame hive, as is commonly believed in the national tradition, was invented in 1814 by the outstanding Ukrainian beekeeper P. I. Prokopovich. Jan Dzherzhon (created his collapsible hive in) and August von Berlepsch () also claim leadership in this matter. However, a close-to-modern frame design was patented in the US by Langstroth in 1851; the frames in the Langstroth hive were removed from above, it was this design that became the most common in the world.

Frame hive details

The frame hive is formed from its constituent parts. In some specific cases, the hive can be assembled from them in different ways. The kit usually includes:

• Removable bottom (in a number of designs, the bottom is part of the 1st hull).
• Cases (depending on the type of hive from one to several).
• Shop extensions (it can be one or more, often regardless of the type of hive); each extension has one complete set of frames (depending on the design 10-24).
• Roof (in case of pavilion keeping of bees, it may be absent, because the hives are located under the roof of the building / trailer).
• Frames in which bees build honeycombs; As a rule, two sets of frames are kept for each body, and one set for the extension.
• Frame separators (for example, pegs or other system for fixing a certain width of the space between the frames).
• Canvas or thin board ceiling (this is laid over the frames of the topmost cabinet).
• Feeder (most often it is a frame feeder).
• Arrival board; most often it is non-removable and is under each letok.
• Diaphragm (for separating families sharing one building; or the habitable part of the building from the empty one).
• One or more dividing grids (they prevent the queen from getting into the body or honey extension and sowing eggs there)
• Pillow or several (filled with dried moss, cotton wool or other material).

Types of frame hives

Vertical hives (risers) are all frame hives, the volume of which increases upwards by placing new buildings or stores on the nest (“semi-frame extensions”). Thus, the frames in a vertical hive with an increase in its volume are arranged in several tiers.

Horizontal hives (beds) are called hives, the volume of which is increased by adding frames to the nest on the side. The frames in the loungers are arranged in one tier and the hives themselves look like elongated boxes. In fact, beds have only one design, which is somewhat modified by individual beekeepers.

In Russia, both multi-hull riser hives and sunbeds are equally widespread.

The multi-case system is considered more convenient when working with a large number of bee colonies, because it allows you to work not with frames, but with cases. Often, there are 200 or more bee colonies per beekeeper with bee housing.

Hives-loungers

Horizontal hives are called sunbeds. They look like long boxes or old chests. Usually they contain 16-20, and sometimes 24 frames 435 × 300 mm in size. The nest of bees expands horizontally here. A 16-frame hive-lounger is made for one family, and 20- and 24-frame ones are made for two. The volume of such a hive allows you to grow stronger colonies than in a 12-frame hive. Usually two lower and two upper notches are located in front, but can also be located on opposite sides - in the front and rear walls. There are one or two shops. The ceiling is made collapsible. The roof is flat and is on the same level with the walls of the body, while it is held by the outer folds. Since it is very easy to work with a sunbed, beginner beekeepers usually start working with it.

Multi-hull hives

In a multi-hull hive, the bodies are placed vertically, one on top of the other. As the bee family develops, cases and store extensions are added. As a rule, two-, three- and actually multi-hull hives are distinguished. At the same time, the number of buildings is determined by the method of beekeeping and the calculations of the beekeeper, and not by the design.

The world's most popular (and almost the only) multi-hull hive design is the Langstroth-Rooth hive. Its cases are designed for the Ruth frame with dimensions of 435x230 mm, and the magazines do not differ from the cases.

Cases differ depending on the height of the frame that is used. The most commonly used frame Ruth.

There are cases when beekeepers complete Dadan hives as multi-hulls - they put several cases and extensions (the latter can be either cases or typical extensions on a half-frame).

The hive is the home of the bees, in which the bees build a nest of wax goths. In the cells of the combs, the bees reproduce (raise the brood), accumulate food supplies - honey and bee bread, and they are placed in the gaps between the combs (streets). The hive protects the nest and bees from adverse effects external environment, ensures the preservation of the heat generated by the bees.

In ancient times, wild bees lived in rock crevices, caves and tree hollows. Later, in the care of bees, non-separable, and then collapsible and frame hives began to be used.

General information about frame hives

All common frame hives can be divided into two groups: vertical - risers and horizontal - deck chairs.

Vertical hives. The volume of vertical hives, if necessary, is increased upwards by placing additional cases or extensions. The height of such hives is greater than the length and width. Vertical hives best meet the biological requirements of bees and industrial bee care technology. When working with multi-hull hives, the beekeeper does not operate with separate frames, but with whole bodies and extensions, which significantly increases the productivity of beekeepers.

Hive Disadvantages:

it is inconvenient to use them for keeping helper queens and spare queens;

hives, consisting of a large number of buildings, are unstable;

working with bees in two- and multi-hull hives, the beekeeper is forced to lift and carry heavy bodies.

Horizontal hives. These include hives, the volume of which does not increase upwards, but to the side. In horizontal hives, the width is greater than the height. In sunbeds, it is easier to keep helper queens and layering next to the main colony, it is more convenient to select honey and collect nests of bee colonies for the winter. The expansion of nests is carried out more evenly in such hives, the thermal regime is better preserved, since it is possible to insulate the nest from above and from the sides. The main disadvantage of sun loungers is their bulkiness, which makes it difficult for bees to roam.

Hive requirements. As a dwelling for bees, the hive must reliably protect their nest from precipitation and sudden changes in external temperature, but at the same time it must be well ventilated. It is necessary that the design of the hive allows, depending on the time of year, not to change the volume of the nest.

Hive device:

1 - roof; 2 - roof; 3 - ventilation slot; 4 - liner; 5 - extension; 6 - nest housing; 7 lindens with an arrival bar; 8 - tap holes upper and lower; 9-year gate valves; 10 - corners; 11 - support bars; 13- grips

Based on the biological characteristics of bees, hives of all types must have the following mandatory dimensions:

the distance between the mediastinums of two nesting cells - 37.5 mm;

the size of the streets (passages for bees) between adjacent combs - 12.5 mm;

the distance between the side bars of the frames and the hive - 7.5 mm;

overframe space - 8 mm.

Most convenient when working with bees - hives, whose parts of the same name are interchangeable, as well as hives adapted for roaming with bees for honey collection and pollination of agricultural crops. The hive must be strong, light, simple in design and economical to manufacture.

Serially produce beehives from wood of coniferous and M deciduous breeds. In an experimental order, expanded polystyrene is used for these purposes. In practice, beekeepers use reeds, pressed shavings, wood concrete and some other local materials to make beehives.

Hive parts. Depending on the design, the frame consists of separate parts, each of which has its own meaning and device.

Housing - the main part of the hive, which houses the nest of bees. Hives with two or more bodies are common. The case has the form of a box without a bottom and a roof, in the upper edge of the front and rear walls of which a fold is selected for hanging the nesting frames. In addition to the frames, the body of many hive designs includes diaphragms and a hive partition. On the front wall of the housing in its upper part there is a notch for the entry and exit of bees. In shape, it can be round or in the form of a slit.

Shop extension. In height, it is usually half the height of the buildings. Half-frames fit into the magazine extension. It is used to increase the volume of the nest, mainly during honey collection. Depending on the size of the honey collection, one or more extensions are placed on the hive.

The roof is worn over the body or magazine extension and protects the nest of bees from rain, heat and cold, enemies and pests. The roofs of most typical hives are flat in construction.

The liner is designed to accommodate the feeder and create a free space above the frame.

The bottom limits the body of the hive from below and can be detachable or deaf. The bottom consists of a shield knocked down from boards and a strapping of beams. The front bar has a slot - a lower notch 20 mm high, which is regulated by special liners. At the lower notch, an arrival board for bees is attached to the front bar of the bottom strapping.

Beehive frames. Distinguish between nesting frames and magazine extensions. In them, bees build honeycombs that make up the nest of the hive. Each frame consists of top and bottom bars, two side bars. The upper bar has two protrusions (shoulders) of 10 mm each for hanging the frame in the hive. In all typical hives, the upper bar and side rails of the frame are the same in width -25 mm (in the upper part by 1/3 of the height they are expanded to 37 mm); the thickness of the upper bar is 20-22 mm, the side - 8-10 mm. The lower bar is equal in length to the clearance of the frame, and the cross section is 15x15 mm.

Beehive frames (dimensions, mm):

A - beehive: B - for drone combs; B - for reinforced foundation; G - sectional

Nail the side planks to the top and bottom bars with 35mm nails. Data on the outer dimensions and usable area of ​​the honeycombs of the beehive frames are given in Table ..

Dimensions and useful area of ​​honeycombs of beehive frames

Frame for drone honeycombs RT-1. Designed to combat varroatosis had. Frame dimensions: 435 x 20 x 70 mm. It is fastened with staples to the hive semi-frame and used in the nest and during the beekeeping season. In a built-up drone comb and a brood filled with bees, the female Varroa mite lays eggs more readily. As the drone brood is sealed by the bees, it is cut out and destroyed.

Beehive frame for reinforced foundation. Honeycombs built on reinforced foundation (several rows of wire are soldered transversely into the foundation) are much stronger than ordinary ones. Of interest is the frame designed at the Institute of Beekeeping. A quarter is selected in the upper bar of the frame along its entire length;

The opposite ends of the honeycomb wire are reinforced into the tongue of the lower bar with a key equal in length to the upper bar (its cross section is 4X8 mm). The bar and the key are strengthened in the frame with nails.

Sectional frames are intended for obtaining honeycomb in small quantities (sections). Frames are made from wood chips 450 mm long, 2 mm thick and 35-40 mm wide. At present, the industry produces sectional frames made of plastic, the dimensions of the frame are 110X100 mm. An incision is made on one side of the frame to strengthen the foundation. Four such sections can be inserted into the magazine frame, each of which, after rebuilding the honeycomb by bees, can hold 400 g of honey during the honey flow. The fox sides of the frame have cutouts for the passage of bees.

Frame separators are a necessary part of beehive frames. Without them, it is impossible to transport bees in hives, since the frames swaying during the movement of transport crush the bees, and the comb may break. The most commonly used wooden

bars measuring 12X15X X 100 mm. When preparing the nest for transportation, they are inserted from above between the side slats of the frames. By stuffing the blocks on the bar at intervals equal to the width of the frames, you can insert all the blocks between the frames at the same time and thereby speed up the packing of the bee nest for transportation.

More convenient beehive frames with permanent dividers. They represent an extension of the side bar of the frame up to 37 mm in its upper part. The frames suspended on the folds of the hive are tightly adjacent to each other, which ensures their stability during transportation.

Hive Parts:

A - insert board; B - beehive partition

An insert board, or diaphragm, is used to limit the nest of a bee colony when the bees do not occupy the entire nesting body of the hive. The use of a diaphragm in such cases allows the bees to maintain the necessary thermal conditions of the nest. The board should freely enter the body of the hive and have a passage for the bees at the bottom. The shields of the inserted boards are made from separate planks 15 mm thick, on the sides of which two planks 20 mm wide and 15 mm thick are nailed. It is better to connect the boards of the shield with the slats into a tongue and a comb. A support bar 470 mm long is attached on top of the shield, on which the diaphragm is suspended on the folds of the hive.

Beehive partition. It is used when keeping layers or helper queens in the same hive with the main family, when it is necessary to fence off part of the nest box. Unlike insert boards, the partitions are made deaf so that the bees cannot pass from one compartment to another. To do this, rubber bands or strips of rubber are stuffed to the sides of the insert boards. Due to the elasticity of the rubber, the partition is tightly adjacent to the walls and bottom of the hive, and if necessary, can be rearranged.

Hive ventilation. Bees and larvae breathe heavily, releasing carbon dioxide and water vapor. Especially a lot of moisture accumulates in the hives during the evaporation of water from nectar by bees during the honey collection. Ventilation in the hive is passive and active. In the first case, air exchange and removal of excess moisture occur through the walls of the hive, cracks and the ceiling. In the second, the air is driven through the upper and lower entrances by the bees themselves.

In order to enhance ventilation and, consequently, free the bees from excessive load, ventilation holes are arranged in the juice walls of the liner, they sang with folding slats. From the inside, they are covered with a metal mesh.

belt (top) and belt (bottom)

Beehive fasteners. Special devices for fastening the bottom, body, extension, roof of the hive when transporting bees to roaming. It is very important that they securely fasten all separated parts of the hive and are easy to use. For fastening two adjacent parts of the hive, you can use wooden planks, metal hinges and plates on screws screwed into the walls of the hive.

In nomadic apiaries, metal tension clamps of various designs and clamps with a screw device are successfully used.

The most widely used in apiaries are tape and belt braces.

Tape clip (SL). Main parts: hinge, axle, lever, steel band and lock. Tape length 3.5 m, weight 0.49 kg.

Instructions for use. Before use, the staples must be cleaned of preservative grease;

the procedure for working with braces is as follows: untie the coil of tape, cover the parts of the hive with its free end, pass it through the loop, pre-tension it, thread the coil under the tape, then turn the lever 180 "pull the mite, fastening the parts of the hive;

at long breaks in work, the fly is wound into a coil and bandaged, parts and surfaces that do not have protective coatings are preserved,

Safe working practices. The force on the handles (levers) during clamping should not exceed 8 kg after clamping the handles (levers) of the braces should be fixed.

Belt clips SRL15, SR.215K, SR.216, SR.217 are designed for fastening the hive bodies during loading and unloading operations and transportation.

They are a device consisting of a belt belt, articulated with a device for tensioning and fixing it in this state. Technical specifications braces are given in Table.

Technical characteristics of staples

Instructions for use. Before starting to fasten the hives, by external inspection, check the reliability of the connection of the belt with the clamping bracket and hook;

when working with braces, the belt is pulled under the bottom of the hive between the bottom bars;

the metal part of the clamp with the fixed end of the belt is placed on the roof of the hive approximately in the middle;

the second free end of the belt is threaded into the loop of the brace from top to bottom (for braces СР.216 and СР.217) or the belt is put on the hook (for braces СР.215 and СР.215К);

pre-tension the belt in such a way that when it is finally tensioned with a hook or bracket, the applied force does not exceed 8 kg;

select the free length of the belt with a slight tension, placing its free end under the belt to be tightened, and then with the help of a tightening loop (clamp SR.216) or. the hook itself (clamps СР.215, СР.215К, СР.217) carry out the final tension of the belt;

fixation of the tension of the belt of the clamps СР.215, СР.215К, СР.217 is carried out by threading the free end of the hook under the belt in such a way that the special barbs made on the free ends of the hooks completely come out from under the belt;

for the SR.216 clamp, the fixation occurs due to the displaced arrangement of the axes;

it is forbidden to lift the fastened hive by the belt.

Hive fittings. The kit includes three corners and one square. The fittings are designed to fasten the parts of the hive in order to increase the strength, reliability and durability of the hives when operating them in apiaries. It also prevents gaps in hive joints. The main parameters and dimensions of fittings are given in Table.

Basic parameters and dimensions of fittings

Hive fittings are made of aluminum sheet grades AMgSh, LMg2M 1.5 mm thick or steel sheet grade St. 3 1.0 mm thick.

The kit roof - corners KU is designed to protect the ulsp from mechanical damage, as well as for repair. It is a set of metal bent corners and a roof-roof weighing no more than 5 kg.

Technical characteristics of KU

Instructions for use.

The kit must reliably protect the roof of the hive and the outer corners from mechanical damage;

a sheet of iron is fixed on the wooden roof of the hive with nails;

the corners are fixed on the corners of the lid of the magazine extension and the hive bodies.

Hive insulation. To maintain the desired temperature in the hives, especially during the cold beekeeping season, insulation is of great importance. They insulate bee nests in hives from above, from the sides and from below.

Warming materials. For insulation of hives, moss, fire, and some other materials are used. Styrofoam and foam rubber are also used for warming nests. By their own physical properties insulation materials are not the same.

Thermal conductivity is the main indicator in assessing the quality of insulating materials. It is customary to express it by the coefficient of thermal conductivity (the number of calories of heat passing in 1 hour through 1 m 2 of the surface of the fence with a meter thickness and a temperature difference of 1 ° C between the indoor and outdoor air).

Structure (fibrillation). The most valuable material, which differs in the compaction of the fibers by their certain elasticity. Such materials do not cake much, and the coefficient of thermal conductivity will be higher (tow, moss, fire).

Hygroscopicity is a negative property of the material, since its thermal conductivity increases as a result of moisture absorption. Therefore, the insulating material must be dry. Hemp tow best meets this requirement.

Warming materials used in beekeeping, depending on their positive properties, can be arranged in the following order.

Thermal conductivity coefficient and bulk density of various insulating materials (according to V. A. Temnov)

The use of insulating materials. Fibrous insulating materials (tow, cotton wool, fire, moss) are used in the form of pillows (top and side). Usually pillowcases are sewn from burlap according to the size of the beehive with a thickness of 60-80 mm. To ensure that the material in the pillow lies flat and does not stray, it is better to quilt it.

As top insulation, you can use wooden frames made to the size of the hive from slats 80x10 mm. The frames are covered with canvas or burlap, and tow, fire, moss, etc. are stuffed into the free space. Cushion frames and cushion cushions are quite common in apiaries. They are convenient in that they serve in the hive at the same time as diaphragms and side insulation.

Many beekeepers use straw and reed mats to insulate hives, and they are made on special machines.

Standard pillows for warming hives are made from a measured and weighted flap of cotton fabrics, lining twill, waste non-woven fabric, cotton wool, batting. Hive pads are pillowcases filled with insulating, evenly spaced and firmly attached material.

Beekeeping is not an easy task, but it is beneficial not only because of its high profitability. Entomologists and agrarians are unanimous: in general, the benefits of the honey bee Apis melifera are not only honey and wax, which is highly demanded in technology, but even more - pollination of fruit plants. An apiary in a country house, a personal plot, in a garden and next to a vegetable garden is definitely worth all the trouble and expenses, if not directly, by the output of marketable beekeeping products, then by increasing the productivity of the economy as a whole.

A ready-made hive in the Russian Federation can be bought for 2000-4000 rubles, but without frames. One hive in the apiary will not do. The most expensive equipment for private beekeeping - a honey extractor and a wax melter - can at first be rented or given away for processing. Other bee care supplies are more readily available. That is, at the beginning of the beekeeping activity, it makes complete sense to make the hives yourself: they are not material-intensive, they are not structurally and technologically complex. This publication is devoted to how to make a beehive with your own hands. The material is designed primarily for beginners.

Do or create?

Hive not to eat technological equipment in the normal view. It is primarily the home of the bee colony (families). Honey collection is determined by many factors: the experience of the beekeeper, the method of beekeeping, the number, species composition and density of honey plants in a given place, the location of the apiary on it, and finally, just the weather. But honey production from a beehive depends on the correct choice of its type and workmanship much more than milk yield from a cow depends on the design of her stall.

A bee family is not a family in the usual sense, nor is it a colony of individuals or a nest. Since the middle of the last century, some zoologists for short description communities of social insects (termites, ants, social wasps and bees) use the term "superorganism", implying that "superorganism" is the subject of a population of a given species, an individual in it is its structural unit, like a cell in our body, has strictly defined functions , one cannot exist on its own, and within the “superorganism” community, a complex exchange of information is continuously going on.

“Superorganism” in the full sense of the word is another life at our side, and, as the 1969 Animal Life aptly remarked, this word has no more to do with displaying the true essence of the differences between them and us than a puff of smoke has to do with the Club of Famous captains. An internal combustion engine piston is closer to an old soft boot, and its cooling jacket is closer to a piece of clothing than a bee colony is closer to our family, and its fertile female is closer to a mother or queen.

Therefore, at the beginning of beekeeping, you need to make a beehive for bees, firstly, exactly following the chosen pattern. Beekeeping has been around for millennia, but the first frame hive that made it possible to fully domesticate the honey bee was developed only 200 years ago, it is so difficult for us to understand their life. Secondly, at the start, choose a sample for repetition that is proven, convenient not only for the life of bees, but also for the development of your understanding of it. Chasing immediately only for the maximum honey yield means dooming yourself to failure in advance. You cannot become a beekeeper based only on book knowledge, and you need to make beehives for your apiary in such a way as to back them up with observations and practical experience as best and as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, there are not so many reliable types of hives that allow you to go from simply ensuring the normal life of the bee colony to collecting more than 20 kg of honey per hive in non-honey years, which cannot be said about various kinds of experimental designs. But in apiaries, they both appear and leave them, but the correct hives remain. That is what we will do, how to make a hive that is convenient and useful both for bees and for ourselves.

hive types

The first frame hive, which made it possible to select honey without destroying the bee colony and without weakening it excessively, was created by the Russian beekeeper I. P. Prokopovich in 1814. increase as it develops. According to these provisions, Langstroth conceived his hive by hanging frames vertically, and in 1851 he finally brought it to perfection, reworking it to fit Root's low-wide frame (for hive frames, see below). Hive Lagstroth-Ruth, pos. 1 and 2 in Fig., is still dominant in professional commercial beekeeping.

At the end of the XIX century. Frenchman Charles Dadan, who worked in the USA, set out to create a hive suitable for places with more severe winters and fewer honey plants, where the profitability of large-scale industrial beekeeping is doubtful, but as a help in frequent farming and a source of pollinators, it is fully justified. By increasing the number of frames in the hull to 12 and the height of the frame, Dadan got a hive that fully met his intentions. A hive of Dadan, or just a hive-dadan, or even a dadan, pos. 3, dominates in small-scale frequent beekeeping in the same way as Lagstrota-Ruta in large professional beekeeping. Small but useful changes were made to it by the Swiss Blatt.

Amateur beekeepers, as a rule, begin their journey with bee-beds, pos. four, allowing, in the presence of a sufficient number and high density of honey plants, to obtain a good honey flow, having only the initial skills of caring for bees. Qualified amateur beekeepers who supply products for sale, and professional entrepreneurs working alone with the number of bee colonies up to 1000 (approximately), prefer, depending on local conditions, the Roger Delon alpine hive (alpine hive), pos. 5, or its modifications, the Khomich hive or the Varre hive, pos. 6. The laboriousness and complexity of caring for them require solid experience, but the manufacture of an alpine-type hive requires 1.5-2 times less materials than a Dadan hive, and the honey collection from it is higher and more stable. In non-honey years, the Alpine is able to give a honey collection 10-11 times (!) More and, therefore, remain profitable, and the Varre hive is 3-5 times more than the dadan. In ordinary and honey years, this difference is smoothed out. Alpine clone hives are light (approx. 15 kg per body with honey), compact, transportable and therefore most suitable for nomadic beekeeping. Such properties of alpine hives are highly valued by SP beekeepers, for whom the day feeds the year.

Beehive designs

At pos. with the Dadana hive, well-views are the main components of a rationally arranged bee house. The bottom (stand) separates the hive from the ground, and its sloping front wall serves as a landing site for bees. Between the bottom and the body, most often there is a reverse bottom without a front wall; it facilitates the current care of the hive - garbage collection, removal of dead bees. Case - a box without a bottom; possibly with an additional notch in the upper third. Nesting frames are placed in the body, on which, so to speak, the daily life of bees passes. The case, if necessary, can be divided into parts by removable vertical partitions - diaphragms. There can be 1 or more hive bodies; a hive of more than 3 buildings is called a multi-hull hive.

Shop - the same, or lesser height, a box without a notch. This is a commercial hive extension from which honey is taken. The store is separated from the body by a horizontally laid dividing grid - a separator - with cells of such a size that the worker bees pass through them, but the larger queen does not. The combs in the store are built and filled with honey, but the queen cannot lay eggs in them, and therefore the combs in the store are not sealed. Bee hive, designed for the so-called. an aggressive method of honey collection, it is necessarily supplied with a store.

Note: bees are hard workers. With an aggressive method of honey collection, excess honey and wax is taken from them all the time, encouraging the bees to build and build combs for supplies. Allow the bees to stock up in excess on the eve of wintering. Of course, aggressive honey collection is only possible from strong families during honey years.

Underroof is a commodity-unproductive extension, a box-shaped section, designed primarily to organize proper air circulation in the hive and create a stable microclimate in it. The bee "superorganism" is capable of self-regulation of its internal conditions. The liner helps in this cultural bee colony, as we have the attic of the house and clothes. Depending on local conditions and the type of hive, the liner can be just a flat shield, such a hive is similar to a barren house or light clothing. Also, the liner is possible deaf or with a ventilation hole (opening).

The cover (functionally - the ceiling) of the hive protects it from atmospheric precipitation; with pavilion keeping of bees, it may be absent, and in good weather it is often replaced by a cloth coverlet - canvas. The roof of the hive (functionally - a tire) is often made single-pitched, and ventilation holes are cut out in its gables. A flat roof, if it covers the hive for a long time, must be periodically lifted for ventilation.

Hive Langstroth-Root

Hive of this type multi-hull with hulls and magazines of the same height, designed for standard Ruth frames (see below). Ventilated or blind liner, depending on local conditions. The number of buildings and stores in the hive is determined by the experience of the beekeeper, also based on local conditions. One honey-filled box or magazine weighs more than 20 kg, so an assistant(s) is needed to work with Langstroth-Root hives.

Hive of Dadan

In an area more or less provided with flowering honey plants, the Dadanovsky hive gives a honey flow comparable to that of the Langstroth-Ruth hive, and caring for it and beekeeping in the Dadan hive is not much more complicated than in the lounger hive. The Dadan-Blatt hive for 12 frames 300 mm high (Dadan frame, see below for frames) provides wintering for 2 bee colonies in a temperate continental climate, and at the same time can be made under the standard Ruth frame. A Dadan-Blatt hive fully filled with honey weighs up to 35 kg, which allows you to manage it alone.

In the Dadan hive, the housing and magazine of different heights make up the hive module. Multi-hull hives are obtained by stacking modules one on top of the other. This hive is now known in several varieties adapted to local conditions. In Russia, their own modifications of the Dadan hive have been developed, but in view of the ongoing climate changes, the Dadan hive in the variant common in the northwestern states of the USA and Canada, designed for 9 Ruth frames, may be of interest; see its drawings in fig. below. The climate there is much wetter and more unstable than in the Central Strip of the Russian Federation. But it’s probably too early for us to supply the hive with a comb liner with inserts; then the Section Comb Super turns into a simple box, and the Inner Cover and Outer Telescoping Cover become the usual cover and roof, respectively. The structural material of this hive is a 16 mm thick hemlock board, which can be replaced with moisture-resistant plywood.

hive frames

Removable frames in a hive for bees are a kind of foundation on which they build a house - honeycombs. From the point of view of bees, combs are divided into nesting, for brood, and idle for stocks. In the cells filled with honey, the first queen lays her eggs, the worker bees seal them, and the larvae develop by swimming in the food. In idle combs, food is stored for the whole family for the winter and bad weather.

Note: although honey bees form a “superorganism”, they are not endowed with reason and act instinctively. Therefore, in the hive, with an excess of space, it is possible to build empty honeycombs. Their appearance is highly undesirable, because. the strength of the family is wasted both for her and for the beekeeper.

From the point of view of the beekeeper, nesting and idle combs should be separated, highlighting separate frames for both. In this case, you can take honey and wax without destroying or even disturbing the bee colony. Therefore, structurally, the frames for hives are divided into nested, placed in the body, and store.

Most hives are designed for low-wide frames, which are wider than tall. Bee colonies tend to develop vertically, so a low-wide frame reduces the likelihood of swarming when there is a large excess of food. Enthusiasts of a narrow-high framework inevitably face a decrease in the honey flow as a whole, because when the germ of a new swarm - the nucleus - is released from the bee colony, the accumulated reserves are spent on it.

The standard dimensions of the nesting frame of the hive since the time of Ruth are 435x230 mm, and the magazine, or half-frame, 435x145 mm. The nesting frame of Dadan differs only in its height increased to 300 mm, see the dimensions and drawings of the frames for the hives in fig. A 2-mm galvanized wire is stretched in the opening of the frame (inset at the top right in the figure) and foundation is laid in it, this is a kind of trench for the foundation. Bees will build honeycombs without foundation, but honey collection from the hive will then begin later. The frame in the case/magazine hangs on hangers resting on the inner fold of the box, see below.

The width of the upper shelf of the frame is 36 or 37 mm, but the hive body / magazine is calculated for the frame installation step of 37.5-38 mm. The fact is that a too dense package of frames from thermal expansion can jam in the box, and beekeepers already have a lot of trouble with frames glued to it with propolis. Therefore, based on the local climate, the width of the frame shelf and their calculated step are chosen as follows:

• The climate is even: sea, steppe or others with slight temperature fluctuations - a shelf of 37 mm, a step of 37.5 mm.
• The climate is temperate continental, eg. Central Russia - shelf 37 mm, pitch 38 mm or shelf 36 mm, pitch 37 mm.
• The climate is continental or if the apiary is in the mountains - a shelf of 36 mm, a step of 38 mm.

The gap between the sidewalls of the frame and the walls of the hive has been precisely verified by beekeepers over the centuries: 8 mm. More - the bees will build it with honeycombs; less - it will be tightened with poppolis and the frame will stick. Ways to remove sticky frames are known, but why deal with problems if you can not create them?

The gap between the lower bar of the frame and the bottom of the hive is made larger, 20 mm. Less is impossible, if you deprive the bees of the opportunity to walk along the bottom or limit it, the family will wither away. But then regular care of the hive is necessary: ​​to tear off the frames that have stuck to its bottom without ruining the family is still the same task.

Assemble frames on nails using a special pattern board, see sidebar in fig; for frame wood, see below. The excavation of the honeycomb and the care of the apiary are greatly facilitated by folding basket frames, see the figure on the right, but considering that hundreds of frames are required even for a small apiary, labor costs and Money in this case, the purchase of stainless wire is not always justified.

Note: in some types of hives, non-standard frames are used. These will be described below along with resp. hive types.

sun lounger

The hive-lounger is something like a chest with frames suspended in it, even its lid is often made hinged. The beehive-lounger is also called the Ukrainian beehive, which is not true. It was invented independently by amateur beekeepers from several countries of Southern Europe. The hive-lounger came to Ukraine already in finished form, and there, frankly speaking, it was spoiled: they deprived the store and adapted it to narrow-high frames of Dadan size, see fig. In fairness, it should be noted that from the point of view of “lazy” beekeeping in regions with a favorable climate for bees and an abundance of lushly flowering honey plants, this made some sense.

The device and dimensions of the hive-lounger for 16 frames (one or two family) and 20 frames (2 family) are shown on the next. rice. In it, the bee colony is even more encouraged to develop horizontally, and the observation of the bees is facilitated. An indispensable accessory of such a hive is at least 1 diaphragm.

In general terms, the mode of operation of a 16-20 frame lounger is as follows:

• During the spring "explosive" peak of flowering honey plants (garden, buckwheat field, linden forest, acacia grove), 2 families work, the main (main) and auxiliary. The movement of bees from family to family does not particularly reduce the honey flow, they are not up to it, a lot of work.
• At the decline of flowering, the auxiliary colony either separates and moves away (relocates), or is destroyed, or harasses itself: its worker bees kill their queen and move on to the main colony. The excess space of the hive is fenced off by the diaphragm.
• If the summer flowering of wild honey plants is not particularly intense, the hive works in 1-family mode until wintering.
• In the case of violent summer flowering in the main family, a nucleus is formed, which develops into a new auxiliary family.

Thus, at the cost of some reduction in honey yield, the bed hive is largely self-regulating and self-adjusting for the honey/non-honey year. Therefore, even rather significant flaws in beekeeping in it do not excessively reduce the honey flow and almost never ruin the family.

Note: if you read or hear the expression “double queen bee colony”, “two queen hive”, etc., do not believe your eyes and ears. Any student of the Faculty of Biology, not to mention entomologists, will explain that there are no “double queen” bee colonies and, in principle, cannot exist. By analogy with individual organisms, again forcedly rough and inaccurate, 2 bee colonies in one hive is not a two-headed bird in a cage, but simply 2 birds in one cage. Which may or may not get along there.

The bed hive also has a property that is valuable for professionals: since the expansion of bee colonies is directed mainly vertically, one bed hive is suitable for wintering 2 or more colonies, which allows saving weak colonies. It makes no sense to nurse them in a large hive, it will be necessary to give abundant feeding. But an overfed family in the spring will not be able to restore vitality and wither. Imagine that someone spent the winter in bed on a diet, and in the spring he was launched into a logging or obstacle course. In a small volume and with neighbors, the bee colony experiences weakness, like a soldier in a trench with a runny nose. Appearance and a diagram of the arrangement of a wintering hive-lounger for 4 families is given in fig.

Alpines

Roger Delon decided to create a hive that would allow bees to fully use the incredible honey potential of alpine meadows, but this task is extremely difficult. Alpine honey plants bloom in groups of species throughout the season; volley bloom, its peaks are high, sharp and short-lived. Blooming clumps are located on islands, often distant from each other at considerable distances. The daily fluctuations in temperature in the Alpine altitudinal zone are also extreme: in the mountains at night and in summer it is winter, and a cloud has come up a little on the Sun - deep autumn. The flight of bees for a bribe is also necessary in bursts, and they must wait up to several cold days without switching on wintering instincts, i.e. a mountain hive should quickly warm up in the sun and store heat well.

Delon, the beekeeper, came to the conclusion that, first, the bees in such conditions need to be provided with the possibility of the fastest possible development of the family. Secondly, the type of hive most suitable for this should repeat the natural dwelling most preferred by wild bees - a log with a hollow. And in order to create conditions that will be good for the bees, and honey and wax will go to us, Roger Delon, based on the knowledge of social insects obtained by that time (middle of the last century), developed a very low wire frame capable of holding foundation without supporting threads ( see fig.), and already under it - a hive of square buildings 108 mm high, see fig. below.

For ease of care, Roger Delon made his hive-deck composite; the number of its buildings can reach up to 12 or more. The roof of the Alpine hive is deaf, like the vault of a natural bee hollow. There is only one letok, there are no ventilation holes to reduce heat loss. Ventilation is also like that of wild bees in a hollow: air enters through the notch, rises under the roof, cools down there, goes down and exits again through the notch. Bees ventilate themselves by fluttering their wings. There are also no stores, separators, diaphragms, etc., which we need more than bees. Thus, although outwardly the alpine hive of Roger Delon is similar to the multi-hull Langstroth-Root, the differences between them are fundamental.

The first tests of the new hive gave a result that Delon's colleagues did not believe at first, despite his impeccable reputation: the bees did not steal honey and did not go from family to family, even when 40-50 square meters were left for the bee colony. m. honey lands. In a very non-honey 1988, Roger Delon's hives produced 20-22 kg of honey, and dadans located in the same area - 2 kg each.

However, beekeeping in the hive of Roger Delon can be compared in terms of complexity and requirements for the professionalism of a beekeeper with caring for a canary or budgerigar released in the spring into the garden. Labor costs for working with many small frames also increase in comparison with the Dadan hive by 3-4 times. At the same time, in flat places with bursts of honey plants blooming, climatic conditions are not so extreme, but even there the bees do not have time to take all the available nectar and pollen, and from an excess of bribe they begin to steal honey, instead of thoroughly exploring the surrounding honey areas. Therefore, we often offer for sale as alpine hives the hives of V. Khomich and Varre, modified for flat conditions, based on the same principles.

The hive of Khomich differs from the hive of Roger Delon in the body height increased to 220 mm, which reduces the number of frames with the same total area. Hive Varre converted already under non-standard wooden frame reduced height and increased width, see drawings in fig. on right; it is even more easily confused with the Langstroth-Root hive. The honey flow from these hives in bad years is less than from the prototype, but this is due to the lower productivity of honey plants. In the mountains, its significance acquires fantastic values ​​due to the transparency of the air, moderate temperature and high insolation.

Ozerov and others.

From time to time, among beekeepers, interest flares up in the Ozerov and Lupanov hive under a frame enlarged to 500x500 mm. Under the conditions of Central Russia with a long but rather sluggish flowering of not very productive honey plants, according to the authors' intention, it should have given the same effect as Roger Delon's hive in the mountains. But it was smooth on paper. A frame of 500x500 is far from optimal for the development of a productive bee colony (are there many dry warm hollows half a meter in diameter?) and instead of increased marketability in hives for large frames, there is the allocation of side colonies, walking bees and stealing honey.

How to make beehives

The method of assembling frames for hives is shown above. The assembly of hive sections from the point of view of carpentry is somewhat complicated only by the need to choose folds at the top and bottom. At the top, the rebate is selected both inside and outside, see fig. The outer folds provide a detachable connection of the sections during the assembly of the hive, and the hangers of the frames rest on the inner fold. If it is not possible to use a milling machine, the folds can be exactly selected with a special folded planer - a sherhebel. Hives are assembled on nails: you need a lot of screws of various calibers for the apiary, they will cost a lot, and they will not add strength to the hives.

Hangers in a poorly maintained hive can stick to the rebate, which is why enthusiasts are constantly suggesting non-rebate hanger designs. But in fact, it turns out that the side gaps of all of them “walk”, which is why the frames are no longer glued with hangers, but with sidewalls, which is much more serious. In general, the best foldless suspension is the correct timely care of the hive.

What are hives made of?

Traditionally, hives are made from seasoned non-resinous spruce, chamber or room dry, i.e. up to 8% humidity. In the air, then it will not completely dampen, because. from the inside it will be saturated with the vapors of bee bread, honey and the secretions of the bees themselves. Frames are made from the same spruce, but the best material for them is linden. Linden wood is light, which is why the whole hive is lighter, and very viscous, it does not prick under nails.

MDF is similar in properties to linden, but, as far as is known, no one has yet tried to make frames from MDF. Beekeepers are conservative people, and for good reason. However, MDF is not at all chipboard or fiberboard, it exudes gaseous products (“gassing”) even less than linden. More precisely, it does not gas at all: it completely lacks synthetic binders. MDF is obtained by pressing wood pulp at an elevated temperature, resulting in almost pure lignin. On the expiration of phenol-containing compounds, etc. MDF is not certified, because That is unnecessary. In general, an MDF hive frame is perhaps the only thing a beginner beekeeper can experiment with.

plastic hives

Recently, hives from various kinds plastics. The Finnish polystyrene beehive, see fig., is quite popular due to its relatively low cost and immediate readiness for work: set it, put the frame in, and you can move in a family. Also, the unconditional advantage of polystyrene foam hives is negligible heat loss, but it is worthwhile to understand their other features in more detail.

The popularity of Finnish beehives has given rise to numerous attempts to make do-it-yourself foam beehives, but this is not at all the same thing. Styrofoam is the trade name for expanded polystyrene foam. The last phrase is not a tautology; not expressing the same thing in other words.

Expanded polystyrene as a raw material goes on sale in polystyrene granules saturated with dissolved gases. In the production of foam products, they are poured into a mold, which is heated to 80-90 degrees; in artisanal conditions - immersing the form in hot water. Gases are released, the granules swell, fill the mold tightly and stick together; on the surface and on the cut of the foam, its cellular structure is clearly visible.

Styrofoam material is very fragile, and advice to make beehives out of it, fastening plates ... with self-tapping screws, this is not even funny. The styrofoam hive will settle down simply when being carried, even before it is filled with honey. And molding foam at home from granules is not realistic: a form to which foaming granules would not stick is expensive.

According to another method, the granules are foamed separately and a hot viscous foamy mass is pressed (extruded) into a mold, this is the so-called. extruded polystyrene foam, XPS. XPS is much stronger than styrofoam and it is possible to extrude hive sections from it. But - only at a properly equipped enterprise.

However, that's not all. The overall strength of XPS is higher than that of many types of wood, but local (for scratching, cutting, pressing with something sharp) is much less. Therefore, if the hive is made of EPPS, it is impossible to remove the stuck frame from it without damaging the hive itself. In the same way, mechanical cleaning of the polystyrene foam hive is also impossible.

And that is not all. XPS, as well as its more durable and expensive substitutes (polyurethane, polycarbonate), are not absolutely resistant to ultraviolet radiation, temperature fluctuations, and precipitation. A protective paint/film increases its durability, but claims of a service life of ... 30 years are also not funny from the point of view of the most reckless marketing.

And that's not all either. Yes, plastics do not absorb condensate, it flows down in a plastic hive, from where it is discharged. But it is always warmer in a populated hive than outside. In a wooden hive, condensate is immediately absorbed without evaporating back, and diffuses outward - the dew point always shifts to the cold (more precisely, less warm) side. Therefore, the microclimate in a wooden hive, under the same external conditions, is more favorable for bees than in plastic ones, especially since in the latter there is no outflow of air through the walls.

And that's still not all. Almost any plastic, and especially XPS, when heated and under the influence of the slightest impurities of volatile organic substances in the air, gasses, which is not useful for bees, honey, or its consumers. Experiments with heaters have shown that XPS boards, tightly immured in building structures, seriously decrease in volume over several years, releasing droplets of styrene, a viscous yellowish liquid with a specific odor. There is more than enough volatile organic matter in the atmosphere of the hive.

Note: hence another argument against plastic hives follows - disinfection / disinsection, for example. against a tick, and treatment of bees in them by spraying preparations is impossible, and medicinal syrups are very problematic.

The Finns are not worried about these circumstances: in the local climatic and economic conditions, disposable hives for disposable bee colonies pay off very well. Moreover, a considerable, if not the main share of the income of Finnish beekeepers comes from the sale of wax for technical purposes. Which the Finns, by the way, are of excellent quality. But beekeepers who specialize in the production of food and medicinal bee products subject polystyrene foam hives to harsh and well-founded criticism, see for example. track. video about Shapkin's hive.

Video: about Shapkin's hive

About warming hives

From the foregoing, it follows that it is also undesirable to insulate plywood hives with foam plastic, and this is true. For insulation of hives, it is better to use foam - foamed polyethylene (PE). PE definitely does not gas, because. only chemically attacked by strong acids and alkalis, it is resistant in the open air. Think about the problems with plastic waste.

Penolon is produced in sheets up to 12 mm thick, so several layers of it will be needed to insulate the hive. It is not necessary to insulate the hive over the entire surface, turning it into a thermos: for a normal wintering of the bee colony, some heat exchange between the space of the hive and environment. The scheme and method of plywood hive insulation are shown in fig.

When choosing foam for hive insulation, you need to request a specification or a certificate for it from the manufacturer and make sure that the base is high-pressure PE, suitable for the manufacture of parts, incl. medical equipment. In the production of low-pressure PE (otherwise called catalytic PE), a cadmium catalyst is used. His traces in finished product negligible, but cadmium and its compounds are highly toxic carcinogens the highest degree dangers with a cumulative effect. Once upon a time, low-pressure PE household dishes were labeled "For non-food products and substances", but now "alternative" suppliers hide the mention of the method of obtaining their PE away in the paper.

Finally

So, which hive to start with? Completely without experience or, if the apiary is intended primarily for pollination, from a beehive-lounger. In the latter case, it is possible to use a Ukrainian sunbed without a store, and then it is better to entrust beekeeping and honey collection to a visiting beekeeper.

Uliy Langstroth in the photo

AT last years in foreign countries With the development of beekeeping, a very clear trend has developed for a consistent decrease in the number of hive designs to two, which are the Langstroth and Dadan-Blatt hives. In this regard, in the coming years, bee hives of two designs will be introduced into production, meeting the requirements of intensive beekeeping - a double-hulled one with magazine extensions and a ten-frame one with magazine extensions.

A two-hull hive consists of a detachable bottom, two brood boxes containing ten frames 435x230 mm each, three magazine extensions, a roof lining, a roof and a feeder. Magazine frame size - 435x I45 mm. The foreign analogue of this type of hive in modern beekeeping is the Langstroth hive.

A ten-frame hive consists of a detachable bottom, two brood boxes, two magazines, a liner, a roof and a feeder. What is the size of the frames in this bee hive? Each brood body contains ten nesting frames 435x300 mm in size, each magazine contains ten frames 435x145 mm in size. This hive is a complete analogue of the Dadan-Blatt hive.

The experience of many beekeeping farms and amateur beekeepers has shown that a 12-frame hive with an insulated main body (wall thickness 40-50 mm) is optimal for the entire territory of Russia, including the northern regions. This is the hive that is best for beginner beekeepers. It allows the bees to overwinter in the wild, while they get the opportunity to make a cleansing flight much earlier than when wintering indoors. This is of great importance in areas with a short period of building up the strength of families, where in the spring it is required to get strong families in a short time.

A hive with a unified main body can be equipped with one or more magazine extensions with half frames or additional bodies. Speaking about which hive is better for bees, it is worth noting that a characteristic feature of the main body of the 12-frame design is the presence of a large sub-frame space 100-120 mm high and a hinged door at the bottom of the rear wall. To prevent bees from getting into the subframe space, it is separated from the nest by a bronze mesh with 4.4 mm cells, framed at the edges with slats or metal strips.

As you can see in the photo, in this hive for bees, the mesh moves along the grooves in the walls of the body or along the guide rails:

The distance from the frames to the mesh is 15-20 mm, and from the mesh to the bottom is 80-100 mm. At the bottom of the hive there is a retractable tray with sides, 40-50 mm high, glued inside with a film. The rear door is equipped with two window locks.

In a hive for bees of this design, it is convenient to treat insects for varroatosis with herbs - tansy, wormwood, without causing them such harm as when using chemical drugs. Treatment is best carried out after pumping out honey, in early August, before or during the feeding of bees for the winter. By this time, the drone brood is absent, and the fading tansy becomes the most effective for the treatment of varroatosis. To do this, finely chopped grass is filled to the brim with a tray at the bottom of the hive, after smearing the film with vegetable oil, and left for two to three days. Depending on the degree of damage to the family of bees by varroatosis, this procedure is repeated two or three times. After each time, the pallet is cleaned of tansy and ticks, the contents are burned.

After the autumn feeding of bees and treatment for varroatosis, when preparing families for wintering, the net is removed from the hive, the tray is cleaned of debris and put back into the hive. In the spring, at the first opportunity, carefully open the door, insert the net, pull out the pan with dead wood, lightly wipe the bottom of the hive and close the door (bottom cleaning procedure instead of replacing it).

The increased sub-frame space improves the wintering conditions for bees (some beekeepers put hives on empty store extensions), it helps to avoid wax moth damage. The rear door of the main body allows you to ventilate the hive more often in hot summertime, and, if necessary, to insulate the subframe space.

Double-hull constructions are those bee hives that are suitable for keeping strong colonies, since the insects develop better in them, swarm less and are more productive. Therefore, this type of hives is the most common in the Central strip of Russia. The hives of this system are quite successfully used in Siberia and Far East, where a large honey collection forces beekeepers to additionally increase its volume with cases or store extensions.

In double-hull hives, it is easier to complete a nest for the winter period using combs from the second housing. At the same time, the area of ​​the combs in both buildings is slightly larger (540 dm2) compared to the hive described above.

The disadvantages of this design of hives in beekeeping include the fact that working with its bodies is physically difficult.

Speaking about what kind of double-hull type hives are, there are designs with two and three store extensions.

Double-hulled hive with two magazine extensions. Its kit includes a detachable bottom, two bodies containing 10 frames of 435x300 mm each, two ten-frame extensions, a roof lining, a roof and a feeder. The internal dimensions of the case and the magazine extension are 450x375-380 mm, the height is 330 and 165 mm, respectively. The thickness of the walls of the case, the store and the bottom is 35 mm, the walls of the liner are 25 mm. The design of the roof, underroof, bottom and other parts is similar to the design of the corresponding parts of the double-hull hive.

To accommodate an average family in early spring and autumn, one building for 10 nesting frames is quite enough. At the same time, it is not necessary to reduce the nests of bee colonies in such hives (they are left to spend the winter on 10 combs) and apply side insulation. To build up bees to the honey collection and fold honey for an average-strength family, 20 nesting combs that fit in two cases, and two magazine extensions are quite enough. However, all this applies only to families of average strength, which, of course, cannot suit the beekeeper.

In fact, most colonies, during normal development, quickly increase in strength and require a larger hive. Therefore, the number of stores in this case has to be increased. During wintering, it is better to leave such colonies in two buildings, when the upper building is occupied with food, and the club of bees is located under it in the lower building. It turns out an artificially created sub-frame space, which contributes to better gas exchange and humidity indicators. In spring, depending on the condition of the family, the nest is either reduced to one building or left in two buildings, reducing the space in the upper building with inserted boards and insulation.

The same fully applies to the two previous types of beehives. At the time of flowering gardens, usually both buildings are occupied by a family and it is necessary either to put a third building, or magazine extensions, or to make layering to prevent swarming.

It is believed that the modern design of the hive of a multi-hull system has the greatest similarity with a hollow. But it is purely superficial. If in a hollow bees build a nest from top to bottom, then in risers it is the other way around - it is built up with bodies from bottom to top. The hollow has never known foundation, the setting of the buildings against the grain, the division of the nest by frames into floors with interfloor gaps, the reduction and expansion of the nest. Regarding the verticality of the nest, it can be noted that the bee colony is a plastic organism. In summer, the direction of nest growth is of no fundamental importance.

With proper care, it develops well both in a sunbed and in a multi-hull hive.

Two-hull hive with three magazine extensions. Each body and extension of this type of hive can accommodate 10 frames. The dimensions of the nesting frames outside are 435x230 mm, store frames - 435x145 mm. Frames are made in the same way as for a multi-hull hive. The total area of ​​nesting and store combs is approximately 620 dm2. Such a volume of the hive allows you to keep strong bee colonies and simultaneously stir about 36 kg of honey only in store extensions. Cases and magazine extensions have a length of 450 mm, a width of 375 mm (more often they make 380, adding 5 mm for ease of maintenance). Case height 250 mm, extensions - 165 mm. The thickness of their walls is not less than 35 mm. In each case there is one upper notch 120x10 mm in size, equipped with a small arrival board and a valve.

Look at the photo - in the kit bee hive, except for two cases and three magazine extensions, includes a bottom, a liner, a feeder and a roof:

The removable bottom is made of boards 35 mm thick. In its harness there is an oblong notch measuring 250 x 10 mm. The opening of the notch can be reduced or completely closed with a valve. The bottom is equipped with a retractable metal mesh and a tray for collecting varroa mites. The grid with the tray is placed through the hole in the rear wall, closed by a flat sleeve. The constructions of the liner and roof of this modern bee hive are similar to those of the multi-hull type. For the manufacture of one hive, 0.22 m3 of boards is required.

The latest design of a bee hive of a multi-case type (with photo)

The standard multi-hull hive consists of four interchangeable housings with a removable bottom. Each case - for 10 frames measuring 435x230 mm with extended side bars (37 mm), which close and allow you to do without separators during transportation. The four-body hive has the largest comb area (672 dm2). Multi-hull hives help to facilitate the work of the beekeeper and increase his productivity, since the beekeeper, when expanding or reducing nests, operates not with separate frames, but with whole buildings.

To increase the efficiency of bees during the period of honey collection, there is either a round one with a diameter of 25 mm on top of the front wall of each body. or flat, with a diameter of 150x10 mm, notch. The lower notch is made only in the bottom strapping and has a height of 20 mm, in length it can reach the width of the front wall. An insert is provided in this opening to reduce the notch.

As shown in the photo, in this type of hive, the design of the bottom provides for increased space.

It is necessary to accommodate a mesh stretcher (flare trap) used in the fight against varroatosis of bees. Arrival board on hinges. For the time of transportation or carrying of the hives, the lower notch is completely covered with an arrival board, which for this is set from a horizontal position to a vertical one. In nomadic beekeeping, the hive kit includes a ventilation frame, which, when transporting bees, is placed in the liner or fixed on the lid. The liner must have a height of at least 100 mm and a wall thickness of 25 mm. In the cold season, a pillow or a straw mat is placed in the liner, placed on the body, and when feeding the bees, a feeder is placed in it. For the passage of bees from the nest to the feeder with sugar syrup, a corresponding hole is provided in the wooden ceiling. In practice, the height of the liner is determined in such a way that it is possible to insulate the set feeder well in it. For this purpose, a store extension, if any, is quite suitable.

This latest hive design has ventilation holes in the front and rear walls of the roof, which are blocked from the inside by a metal mesh. From above the roof is covered with roofing iron. For the manufacture of one beehive, 0.265 m3 of wood is required. A multi-hull hive can be equipped with a large number of buildings. Intensive technology provides for the constant change of buildings in places, so this work can only be carried out by hardy and physically strong people.

Practice shows that cases with 230 mm frames are more convenient for work. During the spring development of colonies, bees create more compact nests in such cases, in which the queens sow eggs on almost the entire area of ​​the comb, and it is easier for the bees to maintain a normal temperature on them.

The advantages of the design of multi-hull hives are:

• rapid development of bee colonies in spring;
• fast detuning of frames with honeycombs;
• the ability to easily change the volume of the nest;
• satisfactory wintering in a nest close in shape to a natural one, with a large supply of food at the top and free space at the bottom.

With unconditional advantages, the design of this type of hives also has disadvantages:

• exceptionally hard work with cases with intensive beekeeping technology;
• insufficient ventilation;
• lack of free space in the nest, forcing the beekeeper to remove part of the frames from it during inspections, which creates additional stress in the bee colony;
• difficulties in maintaining two families;
• difficulty in controlling building frame and preparing the family for swarming.

Technical difficulties include fitting the cases, especially without folds, difficulties during transportation for the same reasons, and instability.

Sun beds come in 16 frames (recliners), 20 and 24 frames (rarely). During the period of growth and development of the family, the nest of the hive-lounger is expanded by placing combs on the side in a horizontal direction. The volume of the nest in the design of the hive-lounger is regulated by a dividing board (diaphragm). These hives have a number of advantages over double-hull hives. In sunbeds, care for bee colonies is carried out in the same way as in 12-frame hives, but there is no need to rearrange heavy extensions. In addition, this hive in spring and winter can contain two families, fenced off with a blank partition and having separate entrances.

Video: Types of hives

In the manufacture of hives for the front and rear walls of the body and extensions, boards with a thickness of 40-45 mm are used, for side walls - 30-35 mm. The large size of the bodies in this type of hive allows you to well insulate the nests of bee colonies from the sides in the spring-autumn period and in the winter. In the front wall of the case there are two notches - lower and upper (or two lower and two upper, shifted from the center). The bottom of the hive is integral (tightly nailed to the walls of the body), made of boards with a thickness of at least 30 mm into a tongue. The arrival board for bees is the edge of the bottom, protruding 35-50 mm beyond the front wall of the body. In addition, the hive kit includes a ceiling, insert boards, a roof lining with a wall thickness of 25 mm and a roof that is covered with roofing iron and equipped with ventilation holes.

To the advantages of a beehive-lounger, especially on a large number of frameworks include:

• the ability to build up in bee colonies a greater force for honey collection;
• the lack of work related to the rearrangement of buildings, allowing the hives of this system to be serviced by physically weak and elderly people;
• free access to any frame of the nest, which simplifies the control of the building frame and the state of the family at any time;
• less, in comparison with the hives of other systems, roiling;
• the ability to build a large number of honeycombs on foundation;
• the ability to make layering directly in the hive, without searching for the queen bee;
• the ability to keep two families or a family and a core with mutual heating in one hive in winter;
• the ability to keep two families with worm queens in the hive, uniting them before the honey collection.

Despite all positive characteristics hives of this type, sunbeds also have disadvantages:

• the frame of 300 mm is small in height, as in the Dadan hive, while the installation of a magazine extension drastically complicates maintenance;
• wintering, as in the 12-frame hive, is poor for the same reasons;
• spring development in horizontal hives is worse than in narrow-high hives.

The Ukrainian hive-lounger differs from the usual one in that the frames of a standard size are placed vertically in it. There are wall dividers on the frames, which protrude beyond the overall dimensions of the frame by 6 mm on the bottom bar. Shops are not provided. The undoubted advantage of the Ukrainian hive-lounger is a narrow high frame that allows the winter club of bees to rise up without overcoming gaps in the feed.

At the same time, the disadvantages of this type of bee hives include:

• less durable attachment of honeycombs to slats;
• poor alignment of honeycombs along the bottom of the frames, the appearance of mold on them in winter;
• difficulties in inspecting and cleaning the bottom, involving the excavation of combs, causing stress and injury to bees;
• poor pumping of honey in a standard honey extractor.

Many beekeepers find bed hives very bulky and prefer hives of other systems.

Alpine hive- this is a multi-hull hive, but unlike traditional designs, it has only one notch and does not have dividing grids and holes for ventilation of the nest.

Although according to the external description it looks like a 4-hull hive, R. Delon's version, the Alpine version is a fundamentally new design.

The model of the Alpine hive was a hollow dry wooden trunk (hollow). Fresh air, enriched with oxygen, enters from below, and, warmed up by the bee club, rises up. As a result of the vital activity of bees, the air is saturated with carbon dioxide, vapors and metabolic products and, already wet and heavy, descends and leaves the hive.

At the same time, the ceiling feeder plays the role of an air cushion and prevents the formation of condensate. At the same time, a 30 mm thick insulating roof above the ceiling protects the bees from overheating and cooling.

During the honey flow, when the height of the hive is more than 1.5 m, the microclimate in it is maintained by increasing the number of buildings, in accordance with the strength of the bee colony. Thus, an approximation to the ideal natural conditions for the life of bees is achieved. Alpine hive provides favorable wintering, intensive early development and high productivity of bee colonies. In unfavorable years, the honey yield of the alpine hive is noticeably more contrasting compared to traditional hive systems.

So, for example, in 1988, in one of the apiaries in the Carpathians, honey production from each of the 50 Dadan-Blatt hives was 2 kg, and from the Alpine hives - 22 kg. In each of the alpine hives, the bees built honeycombs in three cases (24 frames), and in the Dadan-Blatt hives - not a single one.

The Alpine hive turned out to be not only very productive, but also very convenient to use, easy to manufacture and cheap. Compared to other systems, the production of an alpine hive uses 2-3 times less wood and does not use expensive, tin-plated wire, because there is no need to reinforce the frames. R. Delon places the hives in blocks - four in one line, with a common bottom and a common roof, as strong winds rage in the Alps. In addition, block placement allows you to put 100 bee hives on an area of ​​0.4 hectares. In other words, the area is used approximately four times more economically. Another advantage of the alpine hive is that the hulls are light. The case with full combs weighs 16 kg, of which honey weighs approximately 11 kg.

A significant advantage of the alpine hive is its frame. Their size corresponds to the maximum capacity of the bees to fill them with nectar, and at the same time they are strong enough not to break when the honey extractor is running at high speeds.

The hive is compact and during transportation allows optimal filling of the volume of the trailer or platform. In the autumn-winter period, the alpine hive does not need additional insulation pillows and matting - hibernates perfectly covered only with a plastic bag.

Designer R. Delon is pleased with his brainchild and almost independently serves a thousand hives located in colonies in the Alps in a 120-kilometer zone. True, sometimes they do not have time to pump out honey in time, and then they have to do this work in the winter.

Speaking about which hives are the best, it is worth considering another option - a combined sectional one.

How does a sectional hive for bees

The combined sectional hive consists of sections tightly adjacent to each other. This allows you to unlimitedly increase its volume in any plane, so it combines the advantages of vertical and horizontal hives.

How is a sectional hive arranged? Each section consists of a nest box, one or two magazine extensions, a multifunctional store basement and a universal dividing partition. The universal case has internal dimensions of 450x315 mm, which allows using frames of three sizes - 435x300, 300x300 and 300x435 mm - in the amount of 8 or 12 pieces.

A distinctive feature of the combined sectional hive is a universal dividing partition, located between the sections when they are connected into blocks. Properly using it, you can solve a whole range of problems. It is possible to insert a dividing grid, a perforated or blank partition, a bee remover, glass into it.

The number of sections in the block depends on the task. For example, a single family in the summer occupies at least three sections, and winters in one. To keep warm, sections for the winter are combined into blocks of three or four pieces.

With a two-uterine content, at least five sections are required. With a multi-family hive (the hive also allows such a possibility) - the number of sections is unlimited. The hive is easy to use and allows you to use any modern methods of breeding and keeping bees.

Video: Hive designs of various types