Pasechnitsvo today is one of the most common phenomena that is observed both in the village and in the suburban area. This lesson every year involves an increasing number of people and every year rapidly increases its pace of development. The article will examine in detail what the term "apiary" means, as well as its detailed photographs in high quality.
The story of the first apiary
An apiary is a specially equipped area that contains a variety of structures for the artificial cultivation of honey bees. This means that in the apiary there are so-called houses (hives) in which bees can actively grow, develop and give their products. The arrangement of such territories plays a huge role for modern agriculture and the environment:
- they make it possible to obtain valuable products, characterized by a whole range of substances useful to the body;
- active cultivation of bees helps to improve the pollination of many fruit crops, which for some plants is the main factor of existence;
- It helps provide young families with housing, which maintains the necessary balance in the ecosystem.
But, archaeological finds found that the first hives appeared quite a long time ago. Even a primitive man used a variety of hollow decks that were installed in the forest as houses for bees. With the advent of pottery, they were replaced by clay pots with a lid. This method was widely distributed throughout the world, from Africa to the territory of Japan and was especially developed in ancient Egypt.
Did you know? The real revolution in the apiary was made by the invention of a resident of the Russian Empire Pyotr Prokopovich. In 1814, he first created frame hives that became the prototypes of all modern bee houses.
Here, the hive was made from silt, in the form of small earthen pots. The drawing of such structures can be found on the walls of ancient tombs quite widely. The apiaries more familiar to modernity appeared in the VIII – X century, the pioneers in this regard are residents of Kievan Rus. They were one of the first to make hollow wooden structures with a hinged lid, which in groups were installed in the forest.
The material for them was both wooden logs and small boards. They were fixed on the top of the trees, directly to the branches or to a pre-installed wooden frame. This made it possible to increase the productivity of honey collection, as well as to avoid damage to bee colonies. By about the XVII century, this technology became quite common.However, the increase in industrial production led to an active deforestation, which negatively affected the industry. In order not to lose the production of valuable insects, hives with bees by the middle of the century began to actively equip on the territory of estates. It was from this time that the active development of the beekeeper began on the territory of the planet as the largest branch of agriculture.
Modern apiary
The modern courtyard for breeding bees is a complex of structures with which you can qualitatively control the entire cycle of development and growth of insects, as well as their accumulation of bee products. The basis of this territory is made up of hives - small artificial houses in which the bee family lives. Here insects grow, develop and give offspring, in addition, they stockpile honey, wax, propolis and so on, which becomes the main product of the collection.
Did you know? One bee family on average can collect about 10 kg of honey per day, while for the full feeding of young offspring no more than 100 g of product is required.
Near the main hives, the so-called control hive is equipped. Its main task is to enable the beekeeper to assess possible problems with the collection of nectar by insects, as well as the intensity of the formation of beekeeping products. In its form and principle of arrangement, it is no different from standard houses, so absolutely any hive can play its role.
Drinking bowls must be installed on the territory of the site, they are small trays for water and all kinds of top dressing that improve the productivity of insects. Often they have a stationary pollen collector that increases the productive value of the entire apiary. Drinkers are located almost throughout the entire territory of the site, but it is best to install them on the edge or on the border of the apiary.In addition to the above, a general purpose utility building should be installed in the apiary. They can be of any design, but most often they are solid structures with dense walls and a foundation. This is the so-called beekeeper’s house and winter house.
A variety of equipment is stored in the beekeeper’s house, pumping out bee products and other manipulations with insects. The winter hut is a heated room in which the hives are transferred in case of prolonged and prolonged frosts.
Important! The angle of inclination of the site under the apiary should be no more than 5%, this is a mandatory requirement when breeding bees.
Types of apiaries
It is no secret that today in beekeeping there are several directions at once, depending on which the apiary is equiped. Most often they are divided into the following groups:
- honey - used to produce a variety of bee products (honey, wax, pollen, etc.);
- pollinated honey - used to increase plant yields on a variety of farms engaged in the cultivation of annual and perennial plants of an industrial direction;
- pollinated - It is used exclusively for pollination of agricultural plants, the collection of various products is not carried out. Most often they are equipped inside greenhouses or near fields;
- bee - Equipped for the cultivation of young families for sale;
- integrated - the most common form, it combines to one degree or another the quality of all the above groups.
How to start your apiary?
Despite its exoticism, almost anyone can delve into the apiary industry. However, before acquiring insects, it is necessary to precisely calculate what is needed for this, and whether there are optimal conditions for this. Otherwise, the bee families will leave the apiary, not having time to settle down.
Fundamental rules
To successfully organize an apiary, you must:
- to determine the budget for a future event, an apiary will require a lot of costs, especially in the first years of existence;
- choose a place for breeding bees and carefully plan the location of all structures. It is best to make a plan for this;
- to reveal the opinion of neighbors about the future apiary, since many people may not like the neighborhood with bees;
- to study in detail the features of the vital activity of bees, as well as the stages of manufacturing bee products;
- choose the type and size of hives;
- carefully choose brood, its viability should be at least 90%;
- if possible, find prospective markets for future products.
Site selection and arrangement
In order to equip the apiary will require a lot of free space. Bees love space and remoteness from other families, therefore, in order to avoid competition for the territory, 1 hive will require at least 1.5 m² (not including the territory occupied by other buildings). In most cases, beginners start with just a few hives, this will help to adapt and understand all the features of bees without harm to the family.
But in order to get at least a small amount of honey, it will take at least 10 hives, and a tangible amount of production can be achieved with at least 30 hives. Therefore, the size of the minimum area occupied by hives should not be less than 15–45 m². Considering the need to install additional facilities, the minimum area should be doubled, so for breeding bees you will need a plot of at least 30 m² (10 hives).Bees love coziness and comfort, so you should choose the right territory for future buildings. Best of all, insects grow and develop in the garden, near fruit plantations. The place should be in partial shade, away from drafts and winds. If there is no garden on your site, corn is planted around the hives, a sunflower or a fence is established around the entire perimeter of the territory.
The southern side of the site is most often chosen for this, the most optimal microclimate is formed here for instant family awakening after winter suspended animation, and the likelihood of their freezing in winter is also avoided. One of the most important issues when keeping bees is the proximity of hives to honey plants.
Important! To create comfort for the insects, one should take care of the direction of the summers, they must not intersect, otherwise hostility between neighboring families cannot be avoided.
In order to provide insects with plenty of food, the apiary should be located near flowering fields, meadows or orchards. Otherwise, in the next season, insects will change their home to a more profitable one. If this is not possible, you will have to create portable modules for transporting hives to honey plants.
Hive placement
The correct placement of beehives on the site is always a guarantee of high productivity of bees, as well as the rapid development of families. It makes it possible to avoid the intersection of individual families and their possible enmity among themselves, as well as theft. There are several schemes for arranging beehives: ordinary, group and chess.
Ordinary arrangement is most often used when maintaining large apiaries or with a sufficient amount of free space. It is also used for wandering hives. In this case, the bee houses are arranged in straight rows along the plot, with a distance of 4 m between each. At the same time, it is customary to place young families as close as possible to the honey plants, and the direction of the letch should be parallel to the honey field.The most popular among modern beekeepers is the group method. It makes it possible to create optimal conditions for insects, regardless of the size of the apiary, and also simplifies the care of them. The method involves installing bee houses in groups of 5-6, with a distance between them of 50 cm. A protective strip of about 4-6 m is created between each group.
With a lack of free space, a chess arrangement is considered most suitable. In addition to saving space, this method makes it possible to protect the apiary from drafts and harsh winds. In this case, the apiary often takes the form of a regular rectangle or square, but if necessary it can be located in a triangle or a semicircle. In this case, the distance between the bee houses should be at least 4 m.
Tips from experienced beekeepers
In order to effectively maintain an apiary and get a decent profit from it, experienced beekeepers advise to adhere to the following recommendations:
- the hive should be located no further than 3-5 km from the honey fields, otherwise the insects will be able to accumulate honey only for their own purposes;
- As you know, the flowering of plants lasts no more than a few days, therefore, in the location of the apiary should be both flowering and late plants;
- the productivity of bees often depends on their breed, so it is best to keep cultivated species on the plot than wild ones;
- Mobile apiaries are considered the most productive, only they allow you to give up to 150 kg of honey from one house per season;
- the bee family grows old over time, therefore, on the site must necessarily be a brood, in which young uterus will ripen;
- in order to improve the profitability of an apiary, it is necessary to comprehensively approach the collection of bee products, in addition to honey, it is imperative to withdraw royal jelly, bee bread, wax and propolis;
- bees are quite tender insects, so you need to pay attention to them daily;
- only strong families should be kept in the apiary, weak ones should be discarded if possible;
- the bees should not be hungry, so in the hives you need to leave a few hundred with honey;
- the main threat of the bee family is thieves, they are hornets, wasps, drones and hungry working bees, so be sure to monitor the appearance of "uninvited guests" on the site.