Beekeeping for beginners: where to start? Methods of beekeeping
A large number oftextbooks "Beekeeping for Beginners". Where to begin? The answer to this question is difficult to find in them. This is due to the fact that the literature uses terminology, which is not always understandable to the young beekeeper. Therefore, he has to look for information in different sources.
In fact, in order to acquireown apiary, just enough desire. And another important component of the process is the absence of an acute allergic reaction to bee stings. All other skills and abilities will come with experience. Many will suffice one year to understand the principles of breeding bees.
Required inventory of any beekeeper
To equip the apiary, certainthings. It is known to any person who has familiarized with any manual from the series "Beekeeping for Beginners". How to start purchasing relevant attributes? First of all, you should pay attention to the hives. They can be collected independently or purchased from other beekeepers or in stores. There are no special requirements for such a product.
Thirdly, it is necessary to smoke. It is used to sting bees up. This will avoid a large number of bites during a routine audit or collection of honey. But completely exclude them will not work.
And the last thing that is useful for the beekeeper -corresponding clothes. It is monotonous and discreet, so as not to irritate the inhabitants of the hives. Also attached to it is a cap with a grid that will allow you to easily view the family, without worrying that the sting of aggressive bees will reach the face and eyes.
Where to place the apiary?
On the arrangement of a place for hives first of allsay all the textbooks "Beekeeping for Beginners". How to start choosing a territory for the apiary? It is desirable that the environment is maximally suited for the bees to feel naturally. But often the beekeeper has no special choice between the territories, so you need to equip the place that is available.
If beehives are placed on an open naturalterrain, which is good for the general condition of families, it is recommended to make a small cavity. She will protect the houses from the wind. This will help the youngsters to get better quickly. Moreover, if the winds are strong, many young bees will perish at all.
Why can bees perish?
Young beekeepers find it difficult in the first yearto force the hives to pay for themselves. This is due to the fact that insects can die, if not show concern. This will tell any textbook "Beekeeping for beginners". How to start protecting your apiary? To get an answer to this question, it is necessary to understand the dangers that bees lie in wait.
Bad on insects affects pollen with GMOs. Such plants in general can call into question all beekeeping. How to start protection from them? Answer in principle does not exist. You can only carefully choose a place to equip the apiary.
In general, if you follow your wards so that they do not starve and feel well, then they are not afraid of death.
What can not be fed bees in winter?
Many beekeepers believe that the onlya food for insects in the winter is sweet sugar syrup. But not all of them live in beekeeping! Where to start feeding your wards? These can be honey cakes or other solid foods that insects can immediately eat. But you can not use a syrup for these purposes. This is due to three reasons:
- Little activity for processing. A syrup is a normal nectar, with which it takes a long time to work to consume it for food. In winter, any unnecessary activity will have a bad effect on the safety of the family.
- Limited opportunities for departure. To process the syrup, you need bribes, and it can not be obtained without dissolved flowers.
- Bees do not eat cold foods.
Bee frames
Each hive resembles a human dwelling. This is a multi-storey house, the apartments in which are the frames. And the basics of beekeeping for beginners will tell you that there are two types of these devices:
- Shop.
- Nesting.
The store is designed tokeep honey in it. But the uterus sometimes confuses such a frame with a nest and lays eggs in it. There is nothing bad in this, as a couple of bees in the hive will not play a special role.
Nest is oriented solely to oviposition. Therefore, it is necessary to be as responsible as possible in order to by mistake not cut the honeycomb from it to extract honey.
Revision in the spring
For the first time, you need to check your hives whenthe temperature will rise above 14 degrees. This is true only on condition that the beekeeping was selected. For beginners, 3-5 families are enough, since it will be difficult to master more inspections. There are several rules that must be taken into account during the spring audit.
Secondly, it is necessary to clean the hives fromgarbage, which for the winter accumulated a lot. To facilitate this process, beekeepers equip the houses with a double bottom. The second is removed in the spring, and in the autumn it is placed on the former place.
And thirdly, it is necessary to remove all the old frames. It is also desirable to clean those that are decided to leave in the hive, but bees do not always allow it to be done. However, if pests, mildew or moth are found within the framework, then it is necessary to extract it, despite the family's discontent.
Pike product collection and storage equipment
Any person before starting to practicebeekeeping, sets itself certain goals. In most cases, they are concluded directly in the extraction of honey for its subsequent personal use or sale for profit. But in order for this to happen, you will need to purchase the appropriate inventory.
- Puff knives to print out the honeycomb.
- A honey extractor to extract honey from the frames.
- A saucepan where the knives will heat up. If their blade is not hot, then it is harder to print out the honeycomb, or even impossible at all.
- Vessels where honey will be stored. For this purpose aluminum flasks are usually used.
- Items with which you can prepare a new framework. This is a thin wire or a thick line, punch, wood.
All these products can be bought after the beekeeper has acquired equipment for equipping the apiary. The fact is that they will only be needed at the end of the summer. And the initial expenditure and so will be large.
How not to irritate the bees?
Insects in the apiary are not aggressive people at all. But there are several elements to which they will react extremely hostile. And before you start beekeeping from scratch, it is recommended that you read them.
Bees also have a negative attitude to the sharp smells. It can be perfume, garlic or tobacco. Therefore, if the smoker decided to engage in the apiary, then he should immediately abandon the bad habit.
Do not make sharp movements near the hives. If the beekeeper noticed an insect near him, then he should not pay attention to him. Especially if he is wearing protective clothing. The bee will fly away quickly when it feels that there is no interest in it.
And the last - it is strictly forbidden to stand when viewing the frames just before entering the hive. This is done either from the back side, or from one of the sides.
Conclusion
It is impossible to take as a basis specific methodsbeekeeping. But they need to pay attention to them. This is due to the fact that each beekeeper develops his own breeding methodology on the basis of his activities and personal experience.
In general, beekeeping is aquite a lucrative and interesting process. The beekeeper spends a lot of time in nature, he always has high-quality honey at his fingertips. In a word, the advantages of such hobbies are enough. And to feel them, you just have to start.