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People have been using a variety of beekeeping products since ancient times. At the present stage of human development, beekeeping is one of the 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 structure of a bee colony and the features of caring for hives.
Features of the structure of honey bees
The honey bee, as can be seen in the photo, has three main body parts:
- head;
- breast;
- 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. Honey plant flight speed is up to 25 km/h. There are also 6 legs in the thoracic region.
The abdomen contains a poisonous gland, the honey fence itself, wax glands, as well as glands for the production of odorous substances.
The main difference between domestic honey bees and wild ones 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 domesticated insects.
Bee colony structure and division of responsibilities
The bee family consists of three types of individuals:
- workers;
- drones;
- uterus.
Life expectancy, responsibilities, and even appearance vary dramatically among different family members.
Queen or queen of honey bees. Unlike other specimens, it has a smooth sting, which is used as a reusable weapon. This is a large insect up to 22 cm in size. The lifespan of the queen is up to 7 years. The role of the queen in the colony is to replenish the hive with brood and increase the colony. The queen leaves the hive only during the swarming period. Once a month the queen lays 1500 eggs. During her life, the honey queen is capable of laying 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 summer can reach 70,000 per hive. All workers come from the same queen.
Drones. Drones do not have a stinger. These are large males who are engaged only in fertilizing the uterus. The offspring contains more drones than are 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 who work exclusively inside the hive. They build honeycombs, feed the offspring, maintain normal temperature, provide ventilation and clean the nest. They also process nectar into honey in the hives. The age of hive individuals is up to 20 days.
Life cycle of honey plants
The life cycle directly depends on the purpose of the bee.The queen lives 7 years, the drone lives 5 weeks, and the worker honey plant lives 8 weeks.
The larvae are fed by worker bees for 6 days. After this, 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 its soft body coverings. Her main responsibility is to clean the hive and perform "household duties".
The young individual begins to collect nectar only after 15 days. Moreover, in the first days she does not fly far, increasing the distance with each flight.
If several queens appear in the hive, swarming inevitably occurs and the family breaks up. The new swarm looks for shelter for several days, and during this time they live in the trees.
Popular Honey Bee Breeds
There are several breeds of domestic honey bees. Breeders have developed varieties that differ in size, color, disease resistance and the amount of honey they produce.
The most popular breeds:
- Ukrainian steppe. Small size, yellow color and lack of aggression. They tolerate winter well and are highly resistant to diseases. During the season they bring up to 40 kg of honey per family.
- European dark honey bee. Bees are dark in color with a small proboscis. The individuals are large and the honey is made in a light shade. Among the minuses, minor 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 the optimal breeds of honey plants for himself. Many focus on productivity, but disease resistance and the ability to survive winter are equally important qualities.
The most honey-bearing breed of bees
Most beekeeping experts consider the Central Russian variety of honey plants to be the best in terms of productivity. First of all, the advantage of this variety is its winter hardiness and endurance. Central Russian honey plants make their first flights already at a temperature of + 4 °C.
The breed is considered the most productive due to its ability to produce up to 50 and even 70 kg of honey per family per season. At this time, the queen begins to lay fewer eggs, so as not to interfere with the working honey plants to make supplies.
Content Features
The honey bee in beekeeping requires special care and maintenance. Producing high-quality honey is the work of not only the bee, but also the beekeeper. There are nuances that should be taken into account when creating an apiary. Especially if you have no previous experience in beekeeping.
Where to place the apiary
The apiary should be located in a place where the most natural living conditions are created.
It is optimal if there are forests and meadows next to the apiary. You should not place hives near a river. In windy weather, bees can die in the river while extracting honey from the other side.
The best option is an orchard, since the trees will protect the hives from the wind and, when flowering, will provide bee colonies with nectar.
How to set up hives
The hives should be located at a distance of 4 m from each other. Between rows - 6 m. A high-quality hive will help increase the productivity of the bee colony.
You can make a hive yourself or purchase it at a specialty store. The hive design can be horizontal or vertical. At the same time, a vertical hive can have up to 14 tiers. And the horizontal one is convenient because it can be expanded if necessary.
Frames can be rectangular or square. The hives should be made from soft wood.
In the summer, a recumbent hive can accommodate a full-fledged family. In winter, even 2 families can live in such a hive. Be sure to take care of the presence of a watering hole, since honey plants drink with pleasure in the heat.
To prevent the hive from overheating in the summer, it is better to paint it in light colors or white.
Features of care
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 should be dry, clean and warm.
- One family should have reserves of 8 kg of honey and 2 frames of bee bread.
- In the spring, it is imperative to lay out new honeycombs, feed the insects, and breed new queens.
Summer bee swarming activities:
- Carefully remove the swarm after landing.
- Leave the mesh 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 or two of them in the swarm.
Directly from June to August, honey plants collect nectar and pollen. The free space must be filled with foundation so that the bees do not engage in construction, but can devote themselves entirely to preparing honey.
In August, the beekeeper needs to take care of preparing for winter.
In the fall, 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 hive humidity should be 80%. The optimal temperature for wintering is up to + 4 °C.Also during wintering, you need to make sure that there is no bright light or noise in the apiary.
Wild honey plants
Wild honey bees live in tree hollows, crevices, and earth tunnels. Under natural conditions, wild bees are aggressive towards humans. But otherwise they are completely similar to domesticated honey bees. Undomesticated honey bees tolerate even the harshest winters with temperatures down to -50 °C.
Honey from wild bees is an extremely healthy product. But you need to collect it very carefully. It is important not to take more than 1/3 of the reserve from the wild hive, so that the colony does not die during wintering.
If a family of wild bees has settled not far from a human dwelling, they cannot be destroyed. This will harm the entire ecosystem. You just need to contact a specialized service, which will come and use bait to relocate the swarm of bees further away.
Conclusion
The honey bee has been known to man since ancient times. Beekeeping was the same trade as hunting and fishing. Honey is the most valuable beekeeping product, but in addition to this, bees provide people with wax, propolis, beebread and bee jelly. Modern man has no need to look for honey from wild bees. It is enough to have honey-bearing insects in your own apiary. All you need is desire and a little knowledge.
