Content
Since ancient times, people have been using a variety of beekeeping products. At the present stage of human development, beekeeping is one of the most popular and promising branches of animal husbandry. The honey bee lives according to a strict hierarchy and is considered a symbol of hard work. In order to effectively engage in beekeeping, you need to know all the intricacies of breeding, the device of the bee colony and the peculiarities of caring for the hives.
Features of the structure of honey bees
The honey bee, as you can see in the photo, has three main body parts:
- head;
- chest;
- abdomen.
On the head of the honey insect there are 2 simple and 3 compound eyes, a jaw, a proboscis and glands that produce pheromones.
In the thoracic region, there are attachment points for two large and two small wings. The flight speed of the honey plant is up to 25 km / h. There are also 6 legs in the thoracic region.
In the abdomen there is a poisonous gland, directly a honey fence, wax glands, as well as glands for the production of odorous substances.
The main difference between domestic and wild honey bees is their size. Wild relatives are often smaller. The color is also different - wild species are less bright and there are even completely gray specimens.
But wild individuals have much stronger immunity, and they are more hardworking. Savages also show aggression more often than tamed insects.
Family structure and delineation of responsibilities
The bee colony consists of three types of individuals:
- workers;
- drones;
- uterus.
Life expectancy, responsibilities and even the appearance of different family members are radically different.
Queen or queen of honey bees... Unlike other individuals, it has a smooth sting, which is used as a reusable tool. This is a large insect up to 22 cm in size. The life span of the uterus is up to 7 years. The role of the queen in the family is to replenish the hive with brood and increase the colony. The uterus leaves the hive only during the swarming period. The uterus lays 1,500 eggs once a month. During her life, the honey queen is able to lay 3 million eggs.
Working individuals... This is the base of the hive. They feed the offspring, drones, and also clean the hive. The number of working specimens in the summer can reach 70,000 per hive. All workers are descended from the same queen.
Drones. The drones have no sting. These are males of a large size, which are engaged only in fertilizing the uterus. There are more drones in the offspring than is necessary for the life of the hive. Therefore, most of them are expelled from the family.
There are also hive bees... These are young individuals that work exclusively inside the hive. They build combs, feed the offspring, maintain a normal temperature, provide ventilation and cleaning the nest. They also process nectar into honey in hives. The age of hives is up to 20 days.
Life cycle of honey plants
The life cycle directly depends on the purpose of the bee. The uterus lives for 7 years, the drone - 5 weeks, the working honey plant - 8 weeks.
The larvae are fed by worker bees for 6 days. After that, the larva is sealed with wax in a special cell, where it pupates.
After 12 days, an imago appears - a young individual, which differs from an adult honey plant in soft integuments of the body. Her main responsibility is to clean the hive and fulfill her “household duties”.
A young individual begins to collect nectar only after 15 days. Moreover, in the early days, she does not fly far, with each flight, increasing the distance.
If several queens appear in the hive, then swarming inevitably occurs and the family breaks up. The new swarm has been looking for a shelter for several days, and at this time they live in the trees.
Popular breeds of honey bees
Domestic honey bees have several breeds. Breeders have developed varieties that vary in size, color, disease resistance and the amount of honey brought in.
Most popular breeds:
- Ukrainian steppe... Small size, yellow color and lack of aggression. They tolerate winter well, have a high resistance to diseases. During the season, they bring up to 40 kg of honey from a family.
- European dark honey bee... Bees are dark in color with a small proboscis. Individuals are large, honey is made of a light shade. Among the minuses, slight aggression and irritability are noticeable.
- Carpathian... Gray individuals with a complete lack of aggression. Insects are resistant to disease and cold. Swarming often occurs, which promotes rapid reproduction.
- Italian... A bee with low productivity compared to other breeds, but at the same time it perfectly destroys harmful insects around the hive. The honey plant of this breed is distinguished by its cleanliness.
Each beekeeper selects for himself the optimal honey species. Many are performance-oriented, but disease resistance and winter tolerance are equally important.
The most honeybee breed
Most beekeeping specialists consider the Central Russian variety of honey plants to be the best in productivity. First of all, the advantage of this variety is its winter hardiness and endurance. The first flights of Central Russian melliferous plants make already at a temperature of + 4 ° С.
The most productive breed is considered due to its ability to bring up to 50 and even 70 kg of honey from one family per season. At this time, the uterus begins to lay fewer eggs so as not to interfere with the working honey plants to make stocks.
Features of the content
The honey bee in beekeeping requires special care and maintenance. Getting high-quality honey is not only the work of the bee, but also the beekeeper. There are nuances to consider when creating an apiary. Especially if there is no experience in beekeeping before.
Where to locate an apiary
The apiary should be located in a place where the most natural living conditions are created.
It is optimal if there is a forest and meadows next to the apiary. Do not put hives next to a river. In windy weather, bees can die in the river, extracting honey from the other side.
The best option is an orchard, since the trees will protect the hives from the wind and, when blooming, will provide the bee colonies with nectar.
How to set up hives
The hives should be spaced 4 m apart. Between the rows - 6 m. A high-quality hive will help increase the productivity of the bee colony.
You can make your own beehive or purchase it from a specialist store. The design of the hive can be horizontal or vertical. At the same time, the vertical hive has the ability to arrange up to 14 tiers. And the horizontal one is convenient in that it can be expanded if necessary.
Frames can be rectangular and square. The hives should be made of soft wood.
In the summer, the recumbent hive accommodates a full-fledged family. In winter, even 2 families can live in such a hive. It is imperative to take care of the availability of a watering hole, since honey plants drink with pleasure in the heat.
To prevent the hive from overheating in summer, it is better to paint it in light colors or white.
Care features
Spring is considered the most difficult period. At this time, the beekeeper has a lot of trouble. It is important to strengthen the bee colony and monitor the swarm.
- After wintering, you need to inspect the hive. It must be dry, clean and warm.
- One family should have stocks of 8 kg of honey and 2 frames of bee bread.
- In the spring, it is imperative to lay new combs, feed insects, and bring out new queens.
Summer bee swarming activities:
- Gently pull out the swarm after landing.
- Leave the net with the swarm in a dark room for a couple of hours.
- If the bees have not calmed down during this time, there is no queen in the swarm or there are two of them.
Directly from June to August, honey plants collect nectar and pollen. The free space must be laid with foundation so that the bees do not engage in construction, but can devote themselves entirely to harvesting honey.
In August, the beekeeper needs to take care of preparing for the winter.
In autumn, the quality of honey is checked and its reserves are assessed. For a good wintering, it is recommended to feed the bees with sugar syrup.
The humidity of the hive should be 80%. The optimum temperature for wintering is up to + 4 ° С. Also, during the winter, you need to make sure that there is no bright light and noise in the apiary.
Wild honey plants
Wild honey bees settle in the hollows of trees, in crevices, earth tunnels. In natural conditions, wild bees are characterized by aggression towards humans. But otherwise they are completely similar to tamed honey bees. Non-domesticated honey bees can perfectly tolerate even the most severe winters with temperatures down to -50 ° C.
Wild bee honey is an extremely healthy product. But you need to collect it very carefully. At the same time, it is important not to take more than 1/3 of the stock from the wild hive, so that the family does not die during the winter.
If a family of wild bees settled near a human dwelling, they cannot be destroyed. This will damage the entire ecosystem. It is enough just to contact a specialized service, which will come and move the swarm of bees away with the help of bait.
Conclusion
The honey bee has been known to man since ancient times. Hunting was the same trade as hunting and fishing. Honey is the most valuable beekeeping product, but besides this, bees provide people with wax, propolis, bee bread and royal jelly. Modern man does not need to look for honey from wild bees. It is enough to have honey insects in your own apiary. All you need is desire and a little knowledge.
