Beekeeping methods

Two-queen keeping of bees has recently gained great popularity, however, this is not the only method of apiary arrangement that has gained wide recognition among novice beekeepers. Old technologies are being replaced every year by more and more new beekeeping methods designed to increase honey collection rates, however, none of them are ideal. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so when choosing one or another beekeeping method, it is important to focus on local climatic conditions, the type of bees in the apiary and the structure of the hives.

Modern beekeeping methods

Almost all modern beekeeping methods are aimed at achieving the following goals:

• strengthening bee colonies through breeding work;
• providing the bees with a sufficient amount of food without losing the honey harvest for sale (the amount of honey collected should be enough for both the beekeeper and the insects);
• ensuring safe wintering for bees.

In other words, every beekeeping method in one way or another implies an increase in the profitability of the apiary.

Classification of beekeeping methods

When choosing a beekeeping method, it is important to consider its main purpose. All methods of organizing life in an apiary are usually classified into the following areas:

• increasing honey collection rates;
• bee colony breeding;
• an increase in the total number of worker bees, especially at the beginning of the honey harvest;
• increasing wintering safety;
• preventing swarming;
• protection of the queen bee.

Cebro method

The method is named after its author, the famous amateur beekeeper V.P. Tsebro. Beekeeping according to its technology involves increasing the productivity of bees to the maximum possible limits. All work is carried out strictly according to the calendar schedule.

Basic principles of beekeeping in Tsebro:

1. Bees are kept in three-body hives with a large volume.
2. In the spring, during the growth of bee colonies, store inserts are not removed. Instead, the second building is being completed.
3. Weak bee families are discarded, leaving only strong and healthy families in the apiary.
4. On the 14th day of development of the queen bee colony, preferably at a late harvest, it is recommended to create 2-3 layers and organize a new bee colony.
5. Immediately after the bribe, the formed layerings are combined with the main family. The queen bee is removed.
6. To increase honey yield, bees need to provide the most comfortable wintering possible. To do this, insects are fed high-quality, complete food and the hives are well ventilated.Double-hull hives are best suited for wintering, with a magazine placed underneath and a nesting frame on top.

The advantages of beekeeping using the Cebro method include minimal mortality after wintering and the absence of swarming. There are no obvious shortcomings.

Kemerovo beekeeping system according to Kashkovsky

Beekeeping according to the method of V. G. Kashkovsky in many regions of the country replaced the traditional Soviet system in the 50s of the 20th century. The prerequisite for such a transition was the labor intensity and significant time expenditure of the old technology: it was necessary to frequently inspect beehives, reduce and expand nests one frame at a time. In this regard, the beekeeping department of the agricultural station of the Kemerovo region began to develop a new method, the goal of which was to simplify the care of bees and increase honey yield by 2-3 times.

The basis of the Kemerovo beekeeping system is the following:

1. Strong colonies of bees are kept in wide streets (up to 1.2 cm), and they are not reduced in spring. Also, honeycombs that have not been inhabited by bees are not removed from the hive.
2. The procedures for inspecting and dismantling bee hives are reduced to 7-8 times a season.
3. Fistula uteruses are used in production. This greatly reduces the amount of work involved in breeding and replanting queens.

The advantage of this method of beekeeping is the possibility of keeping a large number of unrelated queens in the apiary. Some beekeepers consider the disadvantages of the need to break out excess queen cells.

Canadian beekeeping

Canadian beekeepers use bee breeding methods aimed at maximizing honey production and increasing insect immunity. When organizing the life of bees in an apiary, they adhere to the following rules:

1. Bees are fed in the fall with maple syrup. Fertilizing is introduced starting from the end of August, and the syrup must be diluted with Fumagillin. The drug strengthens the immunity of bees, as a result of which they get sick less often.
2. Winters in Canada are harsh, so Canadian beekeepers close their hives as early as October. Overwintering takes place in one building, where the bees form a tight ball and thus spend the winter.
3. Canadians do not consider spring swarming a big problem. If the bees occupy 9 frames, then it is recommended to add a magazine and a dividing grid to the hive. Under no circumstances should hives be allowed to become overcrowded. To do this, it is necessary to install store extensions in them in advance to increase honey collection.
4. Queens are usually replaced every 2 years. Old individuals are replaced only if young queens are available, which is possible from June to the end of August.

Pros of the Canadian beekeeping method:

• easy wintering;
• increased honey collection rates;
• excellent immunity of bees.

You can learn more about beekeeping in Canada from the video below:

Beekeeping on 145 frame

Recently, beekeeping technology has become increasingly popular, in which bees are kept in low-wide hives on a frame 145 mm high. The idea of ​​​​creating a new type of hive first came to the mind of the American K. Farrar, who is considered the founder of this method of beekeeping.

The hive for the 145th frame is a structure consisting of a main box, a removable bottom, a roof and an undercover. There are 4 frames and 2 brood extensions for 12 frames.

Features of keeping bees on the 145th frame:

1. In the spring, after a clearing flight, the bees are removed from the winter hut. Then the bottoms of the hives are replaced.
2. When warm weather sets in, the nests are reduced. Winter brood is replaced with foundation.
3. After 2-3 days, the queen is moved to the lower part of the hive and a Hahnemann grid is installed. When the brood is sealed, layering is made on top for the queen cell.
4. At the end of April, the foundation body is installed under the dividing grid.
5. During the pollen collection period, pollen collectors are placed.
6. Honey is collected immediately after the bribe.
7. Weak families are discarded and not allowed to winter.

Advantages of beekeeping on the 145th frame:

• compactness of hives;
• the ability to rearrange the housings, facilitating the adaptation of bees after wintering;
• accessibility for working with parts of the structure.

Contactless beekeeping

Non-contact beekeeping is considered to be the most humane in relation to insects and as close as possible to their natural way of life. Sometimes the contactless beekeeping method is even called natural. Adherents of this technology are convinced that this is the only way to obtain pure healing honey without any food additives, chemicals or antibiotics.

The basis of this method of breeding bee colonies is the placement of insects in USH-2 hive logs, the structure of which resembles tree hollows - places where bees settle in the wild. This method was popularized by V.F.Shapkin, who created a new type of hive, having previously studied ancient Russian beekeeping. Bees do not require human control to produce honey effectively, so interference in their lives must be kept to a minimum, he said.

The USh-2 type hive consists of a combined bottom, 4-6 buildings and a roof. The internal cross-section of the hive should not be less than 30 cm. The internal structure of the hive encourages the bees to place honey storage and brood in the lower part of the structure, just as it happens in the wild. When there is not enough space, insects climb under the entrance. Ultimately, breeding bees in USH-2 using the non-contact method of beekeeping allows you not to disturb the bee colony once again during household work (pumping out honey, for example).

When the apiary is prepared for winter using this method, it is enough to leave 18-20 kg of honey.

The advantages of beekeeping using the Shapkin method in such a hive are as follows:

• simplicity of design;
• multi-tiered content;
• good thermal insulation of the bee's home;
• ability to work with separate buildings;
• the ability to keep bees in the wild in winter;
• facilitating the migration process;
• possibility of using standard frames;
• bee swarming control;
• availability of economic work in which there is no direct contact with bees - at any time of the year, the combined bottom can be removed from a hive of the USH-2 type, cleaned of waste, or replaced.

The small cross-sectional size of the hive is sometimes cited as a disadvantage of contactless beekeeping.With such parameters it is difficult to breed a large, strong family.

Cassette beekeeping

Cassette beekeeping is based on housing bees in lightweight, compact versions of conventional hives. In appearance, the cassette pavilion resembles an elongated chest of drawers with small drawers, each of which represents a separate bee house.

Advantages of cassette beekeeping:

1. Bees can live in such a home all year round. In this regard, there is no need to spend on special storage facilities for honeycombs, installation of winter hives and seasonal transportation of hives.
2. The productivity of the apiary increases 2-3 times, especially when installing a mobile cassette pavilion for bees. Honey yield is increased by moving bee families from one honey collection base to another.
3. Saving space, which is especially important when practicing beekeeping in the country.

The cassette beekeeping method also has disadvantages. For example, during periods of prolonged rain, the cassette pavilion may become damp, and debris may accumulate at the bottom of the structure.

Two-queen beekeeping

Dual-queen keeping of bees is a method of beekeeping in which insects live in dadans or multi-hull hives, while workers from two brood colonies interact through connecting paths. Both families are equal.

The bees' homes are arranged into 16 frames, separated by a lattice. Each bee colony has 8 frames at its disposal. In summer, a magazine insert is attached to the hive.

Advantages of two-queen keeping bees in multi-hull hives or dadans:

• bees winter easier due to the larger number of individuals (this makes it easier for insects to warm each other);
• the cost of feeding bees is lower;
• bee families become stronger;
• the intensity of oviposition of the uterus increases.

The disadvantages of keeping bees with two queens include the high cost of hives, the difficulty of working with bulky structures and poor ventilation of homes - in such conditions, bees can begin to swarm.

Beekeeping using the Malykhin method

V. E. Malykhin created his own method of beekeeping based on the technology of regulating brood and reproduction using a special insulator.

Key points:

1. At the end of the season, two uteruses are placed in the isolation ward: the fetal one and the backup one.
2. Two or more queens can winter together.
3. In the autumn, they get rid of lingering broods.

The main advantage of this method of beekeeping is that the bee colony can heal itself on its own.

Batch beekeeping

Package beekeeping is a form of bee breeding in which families are sent in packages to other farms, after which they are destroyed. The batch beekeeping method is very popular in regions with overhead wintering and a good honey supply. Instead of spending money on organizing a comfortable wintering for bees, in such climatic conditions it is easier to annually purchase new bee packages produced in the southern regions.

Pros of package beekeeping:

• high yield of commercial honey;
• no need for autumn and spring inspection, as well as other seasonal apiary work (installation of a winter hut, bringing bees into the winter hut, clearing the point of snow);
• the ability to use hives with thin walls, which simplifies work in the apiary.

The main disadvantage of this method of beekeeping is the high cost of purchasing bees every year.

Blinov method in beekeeping

The beekeeping method, based on the technology of A. Blinov, is aimed at ensuring a safe wintering of bees and creating optimal conditions for raising brood in the spring, when the bee colony is weakened after winter.

The essence of the method comes down to the following:

1. In early spring, it is necessary to reduce the nest of the bee colony. To do this, leave half as many frames as bees usually inhabit. The remaining frames are taken behind the dividing partition.
2. In a rebuilt nest, the queen does not form the brood compactly, making it easier for the bees to warm it. Thanks to this, they spend less energy and feed, which increases the productivity of the apiary.
3. After 15 days, they begin to gradually move the partition as the uterus inoculates the next frame.

The beekeeping method according to A. Blinov is most effective only when used on weak bee colonies. Strong families cope well with all the brood laid by the queen.

Board and log beekeeping

As the name suggests, the log method of organizing an apiary involves placing bee colonies in logs. When using log beekeeping, honey is collected only once a year. As a result, honey collection rates are insignificant, however, the time costs for its production are also much less. In addition, the quality of honey from log beekeeping is always higher than from frame beekeeping.

As for airborne beekeeping, this is the oldest, wildest form of beekeeping. This is a system in which bee families live in natural or artificially hollowed out hollows.Of course, bees are rarely bred this way these days, when there are many more efficient ways to produce honey. In particular, log beekeeping is much more convenient than side beekeeping: the apiary is concentrated in one place, there is no need to regularly go into the forest and climb trees.

The advantages of log beekeeping compared to frame beekeeping include the following:

1. The deck is much stronger than composite structures.
2. Making a deck is very simple. Basic knowledge of carpentry is sufficient.
3. In winter, decks retain heat more effectively.
4. In the spring, it is more convenient to remove dead wood from the deck.

Cons: the decks are not transportable, and the possibility of impact on bees is minimal.

Conclusion

Two-queen keeping of bees, as well as other beekeeping methods, are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the apiary. Some methods are distinguished by a humane approach to the bees, others involve, first of all, obtaining the maximum possible amount of honey. The most important thing when choosing a particular method is not to forget that in different areas and with different breeds of bees you can get completely different results.

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