How to care for bees in spring. Autumn bee care

Caring for bees is the main task that a beekeeper who is just starting to create his own apiary will have to do. We are not talking about honey yet. Of course, it will be in small quantities, but that’s not the main thing.

The development and health of colonies, on which future productivity depends, is what should be of primary interest to every beekeeper. The only difference is that a beginner just learns this activity, and an experienced one works and shares knowledge.

If you create favorable conditions for the bees in the hive and unobtrusively help them at key stages of their life, then in a year or two you can get a good apiary that will begin to make a profit.

It is impossible to do this without proper and timely care - bees often get sick, do not build up strength well, due to the small number of colonies, their honey production is poor, and such colonies of insects generally have a very difficult time overwintering and often die.

Beekeeping is a complex science. It is not always easy for a novice beekeeper to understand all the intricacies of this matter. Nobody wants to ruin everything at the first stage.

Therefore, even before acquiring families, it is advisable for a beginner to know everything about how to care for bees from scratch.

The first concerns of a beekeeper

New bees are usually acquired in late spring - early summer. Early purchase is preferred.

During the season, insects will have time to build new honeycombs, increase their numbers, and provide themselves with good food by working in the honey collection. They will leave for the winter as a full-fledged family. Before the start of a good bribe, they will have to be fed, but this is not difficult to do.

There are different ways to become a bee owner:

Privately, purchase layerings or swarms with a fertile queen from amateur beekeepers.
Order bee packages from bee nurseries.

When purchasing packages of bees, you can count on the purebred insects and the absence of diseases, which must be confirmed by a veterinary certificate and a quality certificate.
It will be difficult for a novice beekeeper to determine the quality of bee material purchased from hand. This requires experience in working with insects, so it is better to invite a practitioner to help.

It is worth organizing and arranging a place for the apiary in advance to make it easier to care for the bees. At first, it can be arranged in the private sector, which is very convenient.

The main condition is the presence of nearby honey plants, a food supply for the population.

Another detail is the type of construction of the bee house. It is believed that bed hives are more suitable for novice beekeepers; caring for bees here is easier.

There is another opinion: no type of hive has any obvious advantages, there are only peculiarities in working with it.

So, the main selection criterion remains personal preference, and experience will increase.

Once the bees are placed in the hives, it is time for the beekeeper to take care of the apiary.

To do this, it is enough to carry out a quick inspection of the nest the next day after purchase and a week later to make sure that the family has settled safely in the new place. If the queen lays eggs, everything goes well.

You also need to add frames to the hive. If bees are acquired early, when there is no good honey, the weather is damp, cold, and non-flying, they must be supplied with food. The beekeeper must take care of the availability of supplies in advance.

In warm weather and the presence of flowering honey plants, empty frames are placed. The family applies the honey themselves.

To increase the ability to obtain more food, insects should not be allowed to build honeycombs on their own. To do this, frames with foundation are placed in the hive. They are alternated with existing rebuilt sections, placing new ones between them.

Having empty frames at the bees' disposal at the time of the main bribe is all they need.

The beekeeper should not often look into the hive unnecessarily and disturb the insects. If bees are actively flying for nectar, there are no sick or dead individuals near the entrance - the colony is developing normally. If it is necessary to install or replace frames, all work must be carried out quickly so as not to freeze the nest with brood.

For novice beekeepers, you need to remember that you need to care for bees carefully, because troubles can happen. Manipulation in the hive and inexperience of the beekeeper can sometimes lead to the loss or death of the queen. This is very bad, but you shouldn't get lost.

Bees cannot do without a queen, they begin to worry, get angry, and do not fly for nectar. Such a family is doomed, but you can add a new queen to them or merge them with another family. If you do everything quickly, the colony will continue its development.

What to do in August

The last month of summer is the time when the beekeeper has new worries.

During the day it is still hot, but the nights become cold and the bees fly out to work later. Many honey plants are fading, that is, the main harvest is ending. We can say that the main foraging season for insects has come to an end.

Caring for bees in August is as follows:

At the beginning of the month you need to inspect the hives. The main place here is occupied by the nest, which contains the brood. The remaining sections fall on honey frames. Strong strong families in favorable conditions(good weather, abundant bribes) could significantly increase the size of the colony over the summer, which increased their need for food supplies. If there are not enough food frames in the hive, the workers will begin to put honey in the center, occupying the frames intended for sowing. The last brood will be small in number, old bees will leave in winter, which is unacceptable. If the nesting frames are filled with honey, they need to be removed and replaced with empty ones. The queen will lay eggs there, and the family will again have a young generation.
The hive may also contain frames untouched by bees or excess honey. At this time, a well-developed family should be accommodated in 12 complete frames of the “dadan” type or occupy 2 “ruta” buildings. The remaining frames can be removed. In multi-body hives, excess bodies and magazines are also removed. If there is a lack of food in the honeycombs, the bees need to be fed.
During the first half of the month, you need to monitor the work of the queens. Bad weather and a sharp reduction in honey flow can provoke her to stop laying eggs. An early cessation of scarring means a small number of young winter bees. It is necessary to give stimulating feeding with sugar or invert syrup. It is good if the queen continues laying eggs until mid-August, when the bees will need to be fed for the winter.
Feeding bees with syrup for the winter is a common practice in beekeeping. Its goal is to quickly replenish the family’s missing food supplies. There is no point in delaying this event, as the insects must have time to process it, put it in honeycombs, seal it and distribute it in the nest conveniently for themselves. All this takes time; moreover, bees can only work at above-zero temperatures.

Work in the apiary in autumn

Autumn is a period of active preparation of insects for wintering. Bee feeding ends in September. Now the entire supply is in their hive.

At the same time, the last young generation of bees appears, the frames with brood are empty. The bees begin to transfer honey there, placing it on top of the nest.

The beekeeper's job now is to inspect the hive and make adjustments if necessary.
Here's how to care for bees in the fall:

Several middle frames, low-copper frames and honeydew, on which wintering of bees is impossible, are removed from the nest. For a strong family, leave 8-10 frames, moving them away from the edges of the hive. The average colony is left with only 6. This is called nest reduction. This technique helps bees comfortably survive the cold. Only young individuals and the queen go into winter. The number of bees in the hive is small. Bees do not occupy extra frames; they remain unclaimed since the fall. Bees will also not be able to use them in winter, since the club only moves upward. In addition, it is much easier for bees to maintain the microclimate in a reduced nest.
Manual assembly of the nest is not always carried out. If the bees have collected enough honey, placed it conveniently for themselves, and have a lot of food on the frame, there is no need to interfere. Only when food supplies are limited, frames are distributed manually, using any of the methods known in beekeeping (one-sided and two-sided assembly, beard, etc.).
IN different types Bee hives do not overwinter the same way. In beds with two entrances, the frames are placed opposite the entrance, and the outermost ones are removed. If four bee entrances are placed on any side of a hive, the rest is separated by a diaphragm. In riser hives, the nest is always formed in the center. Food supplies in multi-hull hives are placed above the club in the store or second building.
The beekeeper's autumn chores also include the mandatory treatment of insects against varroa. Even if the presence of a tick could not be visually confirmed, treatment is still necessary. The disease is present in all apiaries, but mite-infested colonies overwinter poorly. It is most effective to carry out treatment when only young winter bees remain in the nest, and their years have almost ceased.
The hives must be insulated for the winter. This work is partially done by the bees themselves, covering the cracks in the structure with propolis. The rest of the insulation must be carried out by the beekeeper. They do it around the entire perimeter of the nest. High-quality natural insulation is placed near the walls and on top of the frames. The upper element under the cover is installed in last resort to prevent the socket from overheating.
With the onset of steady cold weather, the bees become inactive, make their final cleansing flight and form a winter club. They no longer fly out of the hive. Now they can be placed in a permanent wintering place. They do this carefully, so as to disturb the insects less. On this autumn work end at the apiary.
That's all about how to care for bees in the first season.

Beekeeping is not an exact science, but an art.

There are simply no identical time frames for carrying out the same work.

The difference lies in the climatic characteristics of the region where the apiary is located, the duration of honey collection, and the type of farming. Nature can also make its own adjustments to the beekeeper’s calendar.

For bee breeding to be successful, you need to constantly look closely at insects, study them, and understand how they live. Then beekeeping will bring joy.

Bee care

Honey bees need care. However, this does not mean that they need to be monitored around the clock, looked into the hive to keep it clean and tidy, or given food or water. Unlike domestic animals, bee colonies obtain their own food and water, provide the necessary comfort in their crowded hostels, and guard their entrances. Another thing is to wisely and timely help insects with what they themselves, for one reason or another, cannot cope with. Any interference in the life of the inhabitants of the hive causes them anxiety, sharply disrupts the microclimate of the wax nest, distracts insects from intra-hive and field work, helps slow down the growth of the bee colony. In a disturbed hive, bees run away from the combs, stop feeding and warming the brood, caring for the oviparous queen, building a wax nest, and the flight of nectar collectors to take a bribe sharply decreases. Therefore, the beekeeper should disturb the bees as little as possible by dismantling the nest, and if necessary, do this in such a way that in one go minimum costs time (no more than 10 minutes for servicing one bee colony), the entire range of care measures was carried out, ensuring the normal functioning of the bee community for the longest possible period of time (15–20 days).

To avoid repeated interference in the life of a bee colony, it is necessary to review the entries in the diary in advance, prepare equipment, honeycombs, frames with foundation, tools, light the smoker, wash your face and hands with soap, put on a robe and face net and begin examining the bee colonies. An indispensable condition for working with bees is cleanliness and accuracy. Dismantling a bee nest in bad weather, lengthy inspections that attract the attention of thieving bees, sudden cessation of bribes, excessive use of smoke when lighting, careless impacts on the hives, the smell of alcohol, sweat, gasoline, fuss over the open nest and near the entrances - all this irritates the inhabitants of the hives. Bee theft most often occurs due to the fault of the most inexperienced beekeeper. This is most facilitated by careless handling of honeycombs, when they are taken out of the hive and left open for access by other bees, a hive accidentally smeared with honey, when frames removed from the nest during a family inspection are placed on it, spilled syrup, non-observance of bee feeding times, and also keeping weak families on nests that are inappropriate for their strength and overly expanded entrances. To avoid bee theft in the apiary, you should not disturb families with inspections on non-harvesting days, provide them with the necessary supply of feed in a timely manner (at least 8-10 kg of honey per bee colony), fertilize only in the evening after the bees have stopped flying, and do not spill syrup near the hives, Do not leave spare honeycombs and wax raw materials uncollected.

Having discovered bee theft, immediately take measures to identify and eliminate its cause. In a bee colony that has been attacked by thieving bees, the entrance hole is reduced to the passage of 1-2 bees, wet stems of grass are placed on the entrance board so that the thieving bees are afraid to openly enter someone else’s hive through the entrance hole, then they are periodically moistened cold water a broom and use it to scare away attacking bees from the hive. At the same time, the thief family is identified, paying attention to the increased activity of individual families. In a colony that has been attacked, the entrance is closed for a few minutes, then it is opened again and the bees that have accumulated at the exit are sprinkled with flour. It will not be difficult to notice marked thieving bees on the arrival board of their hive, to which they will return with a stolen load.

To stop robbery, the thief family is first heavily smoked, and then the hive entrance is shortened. If this is not enough, the hive is turned by the entrance in the opposite direction. The last measure that a beekeeper should resort to in the event of an ongoing attack is to cover the hive with a tarpaulin or take it to a cool cellar. However, it is better to prevent bee theft in the apiary, which can easily develop into a massive attack of some families on others, than to fight it later. First of all, weak bee families are subject to plunder, then nearby medium and even strong ones. Irritated insects attack people and animals, sting and die.

Each beekeeper has his own secrets, special ways of caring for bee families, in relation to the specific climatic and natural-economic conditions of their maintenance. Therefore, it is impossible to recommend to all beekeepers, without exception, which side to approach the hive, which hive system to choose, breeding queens only artificially, wintering bees indoors and not in the wild, etc. The choice in each specific case must be made by the beekeeper himself. . Bees, when kept in captivity, need a system of care and maintenance that would not violate their biological needs for development and reproduction, and the accumulation of sufficient honey reserves in the nests.

In the spring, after a cleansing flight, the bees usually quickly inspect the nests and replace unsuitable honeycombs, replenish missing food supplies, make sure that there is brood, reduce and insulate the nests, and narrow the entrances. Later, when warm weather sets in, sanitary measures are carried out in the apiary: dead insects are removed from the hives, damp insulating mats or pillows are replaced in the nests, and the entrances are cleaned. Based on the presence of brood, the beekeeper is convinced of the integrity of the queen in the bee family and determines its quality. The missing food is replenished with honeycombs from the reserve, or the bees are fed with thick, warm sugar syrup (2 kg of sugar per 1 liter of boiling water), and an incentive protein supplement is given. To prevent nosematosis, fumagillin is added to the syrup. Bee colonies that are weakened during the winter and have good queens from last year are strengthened with frames of printed brood and young bees, which are taken from healthy, well-wintered colonies. Very weak and queenless colonies of bees are combined or attached to spare queens. The first spring expansion of bee nests, coinciding with flowering fruit trees, produced by low-copper honeycombs; the second - not with honeycomb frames that were completely built last season, but with the onset of a significant harvest for bees from meadow and forest herbs - with artificial foundation. The need for each subsequent expansion of bee nests is determined by the presence of printed brood in the honeycombs. So, if the second comb from the diaphragm limiting the nest is occupied by brood, then the family needs to be given two or three frames of artificial foundation for expansion, which is placed from the center of the nest between the feed and brood unsealed combs. To strong families Bees can be placed with artificial foundation to expand them and in the middle of the nest.

The construction of honeycombs distracts bees from preparing for swarming and promotes better use honey collection At the same time, preventive and therapeutic measures against bee diseases are carried out in the apiary, early layers are formed, and, if necessary, the bees are fed with syrup, since the cessation of feeding in nature disrupts the stable development of bee colonies and the construction of honeycombs.

In June, they continue to expand the nests of bee families, mainly with frames with artificial foundation, place store extensions and second buildings on the main hive bodies, form new bee families, breed queens, and move the apiaries to the pre-basic honey harvest with buckthorn and raspberries. In July, the main honey harvest is from linden, fireweed and farms and forms sown in the fields - buckwheat, clover seeds, rapeseed, sweet clover, and other bee-pollinated honey crops, after which the honey is pumped out.

In August, the nests of bee families are preliminarily prepared for wintering, the honey is checked for honeydew and the bees are treated against varroa; They feed syrup to replenish the food reserves missing in the nests or partially replace it with sugar syrup. At the same time, measures are being taken to build up young bees for wintering. In some areas, apiaries are taken into the forest to flowering heather tracts.

In September, heather honey is pumped out, preventing it from being sealed in the combs, after which the nests of bee families are finally assembled so that each comb contains at least 2–2.5 kg of honey. If there is a shortage of food in individual colonies, the bees are again fed with syrup or ready-made frames with honey are placed in the nests, leaving as many honeycombs as the bees can tightly cover. With the onset of cold weather, the hives are well insulated and mouse barriers are placed on the entrances.

From the book Handbook of Home Beekeeping author Kharchuk Yuri

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Caring for bees in autumn autumn period the main thing is proper preparation hives and families for wintering. These works begin immediately after the completion of the main bribe. Wintering will be successful only when the exposed colonies at the very beginning of spring can

For beekeeping to become successful business bees need to be looked after all year round. These insects are quite capricious and require careful care, but having learned all the intricacies of working in an apiary, you can not only feast on a medicinal product, but also make money by selling honey.

As soon as the temperature outside reaches eight degrees Celsius, the hives are placed outside and the bee families can begin to be transplanted. This is done this way:

The hive is removed from the ruts and set aside at arm's length. A clean hive is put in its place.
They print out the honey frame and place it in the new hive.
Print out old house and check the condition of the first frame. If it is dirty and bees are sitting on it, then they need to be shaken off and the frame should be placed in portable box. Then they check the next one. The frame that is not deflated and contains honey is transferred to a clean hive.
Next to the honey frame they place the printed one, and then the one containing the brood. Thus, you need to transfer all suitable frames from the old hive to a clean one, and then the bees and the queen.
Honeycombs that are worn out and covered with mold are thrown out of the old hive.

Now you need to see how much honey is in the nest; if it’s less than eight kilograms, then you need to add a couple more frames with honey, but not printed ones. These families may not be examined for a month.

Apiary with bribes

If the apiary is located in a place where there are no bribes in the spring, then after the bees have been transplanted, a month later it is necessary to replenish their reserves of beebread and honey, which means that the nest needs to be expanded. A second body is added to the hive, no brood is placed there, only frames with honeycombs, each should contain two kilograms of beebread and honey, and seven frames with foundation are also placed in the body. Next, the family needs to be covered and insulated. If both bodies are not joined tightly, then the joint is lubricated with clay, which is mixed with sawdust. Now you don’t have to examine your family for another two weeks. Over the summer and autumn, the colonies should grow to such a size that the total weight of the bees is about three kilograms.

If the hives are placed as early as possible, then by the time the willow blooms, it will be time to expand the nests. During this period, frames with dry land are placed to expand the family. You can add a little foundation so that bribes are used more. Willow honey crystallizes very quickly and is therefore not suitable for wintering. After the bees collect honey from the willow, the apiary is transported to where the yellow acacia grows.

Caring for bees in summer

Summer for a beekeeper begins from the moment the insects are ready to swarm, this is approximately the beginning of June. You need to monitor the swarming and help the bees with this, otherwise they will not provide any income, and in winter they will completely die from hunger. You can only take one swarm from a hive. The first hatch occurs when the bees have feathered queen cells; the weather on this day is always clear, since good uterus Reacts sensitively to weather conditions. Before the first bee appears, the bees fly out of the hive and fly around it in a cloud, then the queen appears and the swarm joins her. At this moment, the beekeeper stands nearby until the bees sit on the hive, and then caring for the bees after swarming is as follows:

Using a scoop and a scoop, the beekeeper collects insects. The scoop must be kept in right hand and shake off all the bees at once if possible, the movements should be light and bouncing. It would be good to immediately catch the queen, then the bees will enter the swarm themselves.
Bees that do not want to fly into the swarm are driven by smoke, which is blown from the bottom upward towards the swarm.
The swarm must be taken to a dark room and left for an hour, then listen to see if the bees have calmed down; if they are noisy and restless, most likely there is no queen with them. Sometimes the howl of a swarm means that there are several queens with them, then the bees need to be shaken out, all the queens found, left for them only one, and the rest put in cages.
If the swarm does not have its own queen, then someone else’s is given to it, this is done in the evening. In the head of the hive you need to put pieces of sushi and a layer of honeycomb with a worm; as a rule, bees do not fly away from such a hive.

Towards the end of August, it is necessary to review all the hives to see how ready they are for wintering. Stores need to be removed, honey should be stored in dry boxes, dried food should be stored separately from honey on a shelf so that it is not damaged by moths.

Autumn bee care

Before sending the bees for the winter, you need to check the quality of honey and its reserves. If the autumn is dry, the bees can collect not from bribes, but honey rose and honeydew - sweetish excrement from aphids and scale insects. And the end result is honeydew honey. He has dark color, stringiness and unpleasant taste, it is not suitable for wintering bees; after eating such honey, insects begin to get sick. To determine whether there is honeydew in honey, you need to take a little sample from different families and places in the hive. You can take these samples to the laboratory, or you can determine them yourself; there are several methods:

Take honey and water in equal proportions and stir until completely dissolved. If there is a residue in the water in the form of flakes, then there was honeydew in the honey.
Take part of distilled water and the same amount of honey and add two parts of lime water, put on fire and bring to a boil; if flakes fall out, it means there is honeydew in the honey.

When honeydew is discovered, honey is pumped out of this comb, but not thrown away, but left for spring feeding. And in place of this frame they put a good honey one or with dry food; you can feed the insects with sugar syrup.

It is very important that all bees have strong families before winter so that the insects can winter well, great importance has the last bribe, even a small one. It can be provided by honey plants that bloom late, such as buckwheat and sweet clover.

In the fall, it is also necessary to replace all old queens with young ones. But brood in late autumn is not always needed. If it gets sharply cold, the young bees will not have time to fly around and empty their intestines and will not overwinter well. It is not recommended to feed bees with sugar stimulants in the fall; such bees fly out weakened in the spring and are not willing to take the first bribes.

Nests are collected for the winter in various ways:

Completely on honey.
Partially on honey. In this case, you need to remove the honey frames from the hive and block the nest. There is no need to be afraid that the bees will become crowded; anyway, until spring the insects that are now in brood will be capable. Old bees are used to process the syrup.
On sugar syrup. It is given only twice at night every other day, about 5 liters per nest. To prepare the syrup, you need to dissolve 1.5 kg of sugar in a liter of water and cool.

In early September, the nest is collected for the winter:

Two frames with brood and honey are moved to the partition.
They are joined by layering with helper queens.
Make sure that the bees completely cover the frames on all sides.

Caring for bees in winter

The main technology for caring for bees in winter is to maintain the temperature in the wintering area at least zero degrees. A temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius is considered the most comfortable for insects. If it gets warmer, you need to increase ventilation. If it starts to get warm outside, then the doors in the winter hut are opened wide so that people can come inside. Fresh air. In this case, the bees should be in complete darkness.

Comfortable humidity for wintering bees is 80%; if it is higher, the honey will sour and the colonies will begin to weaken and die. Humidity is reduced through ventilation. If, on the contrary, the indicators are below normal, then the honey will begin to quickly crystallize and the bees will become thirsty. You can increase the performance by hanging wet rags or placing a container of water nearby.

In addition, bees must be provided with:

Complete rest, any sudden noise or light will lure the bees out of the hive, especially if the temperature is positive.
The absence of rodents that can damage the hives and disturb the rest of insects with their vital activity.
The tapholes should be cleaned once a month to prevent the ventilation from becoming clogged. You need to clean it using a wire that looks like a poker, perform all movements carefully so as not to disturb the bees and make sure that human breath does not get into the entrance. Deadheads need to be examined; if there are bees without heads, it means there is a mouse in the hive; wet deadheads indicate humidity; swollen bellies indicate nosematosis.

You need to constantly listen to the noise in the hives; if everything is normal, then the sounds should resemble the noise of the forest; if the sounds are too loud, then the air is dry, the temperature is elevated or the honey has crystallized. If there is no noise in some colony, this means that the bees are starving and need to be fed.

If bees spend the winter in the wild, then caring for them consists of covering the hive with snow, the layer of which should be at least half a meter. After the thaw, you need to immediately remove the ice crust, loosen the snow, while trying not to make a lot of noise. In the spring, the snow is cleared off, the entrance is opened, and straw is laid on the snow in front of it. You can watch the video for more information about caring for bees.

Caring for bees is quite exciting, but quite labor-intensive process, requiring the performer to strictly adhere to a number of rules.

A beekeeper, being a beginner, is faced with a large number of questions, the success of the event as a whole largely depends on finding the correct answer. He doesn’t even know the basics: where to start, how many colonies to buy, how best to scare a bear away from an apiary, and how to care for bees. Answers to a number of these questions are formulated in the following rules:

Breeding honey insects requires significant time investment. When spring and summer arrive, bee colonies need to be cared for at least six hours a week. On average, it takes at least an hour to serve one family. Further time costs depend on the number of families in the hive.
Due to the labor-intensive process, novice beekeepers are advised to purchase no more than 5-6 families to begin with. This amount will be enough to hone your skills. You should focus your attention on the basics first. Only after you have a firm grasp of bee care for beginners can you begin to expand your existing knowledge.
The location for installing the hives must be chosen taking into account the conditions in which bee swarms live in nature. Experts recommend placing the apiary in close proximity to hills.
In this case, it is necessary to take into account which wind is prevailing in the selected area, and choose a place protected from it by natural barriers.
When choosing a location for an apiary, you should make sure that there is a sufficient number of honey plants within a radius of two kilometers.
The hives themselves should be installed at a clearly defined distance from one another. Within one row, the distance between the houses should be 3-4 meters, the rows themselves are separated from one another by 5-6 m.

Cebro method

Bee care

The Cebro method in beekeeping at one time caused a lot of noise. Its creator has developed an entire system, which is a clear algorithm of sequential actions, allowing for the most efficient use of time for caring for bees and increasing the productivity of the apiary as a whole.

The essence of the method is as follows:

Insects are kept in spacious three-hull hives.
In the spring, when families are growing, it is not allowed to occupy the top of the houses with store extensions. A new building should be built.
Only healthy and strong families are left in the apiary. The rest should be discarded.
In the second week of queen cell development, several branches should be organized and a new bee colony should be made.
After the bribe of layering, the family is introduced, and the uterus is changed.
For wintering, two-hull hives are used - the store is sent to the lower one, the upper one is used for nesting frames.

Apiary using the Cebro method

As part of the application of this method, the bees need to be provided with a particularly comfortable place for wintering. All hives must have good ventilation, insects must have complete food available.

Removing bees from the swarm state

Swarming is a natural reproduction process of bees. To keep families from weakening, it must be kept under control. But no matter what method of prevention is used, you should be prepared for swarming of bees. In this regard, the question of how to quickly remove bees from a swarming state is very relevant.
The first thing you need to do is catch the swarm. To do this, you should always have an empty hive in stock for such cases, set traps before the start of swarming and buy special baits: Alimil or Apiroy.

There is a way to remove bees from the swarming state without using traps. IN in this case For catching, the lower body of the dadan hive (or a bed) is used. It is placed approximately 15 meters from the apiary. It contains 8 frames of dry food, which are pre-rubbed with aromas that are attractive to bees.

Important! Capturing swarming bees without using traps is attractive because once the bees are captured there is no need to further relocate them. New family develops directly in the hive.

How to get bees out of a hollow

Sometimes the queen chooses hollows in trees as a home for her family. In such a situation, the beekeeper has a completely reasonable question about how to get the bees out of the hollow without harm.

Removing bees from the hollow

A wire cone will help solve the problem. The beekeeper moves the nucleus with the queen cell to small box or a lightweight hive that can be easily transported to the hollow in which wild bees nest. For the job, among other things, you will need a hammer, a saw, nails and several boards to build a temporary platform.

The first thing the bees in the hollow need to do is light a cigarette. Fumigation is carried out as follows: first, smoke is blown into the hole to drive away the bees, then a remover is attached to it. As a result, it turns out that the bees can get out of the hollow, but do not have the opportunity to return back to it.

The hive with the brought bees should be placed on minimum distance to the remover. A platform is used to support it.

The bees expelled from the hollow alternately move to a new hive. After about a month, a minimal number of bees and a completely insignificant amount of brood will remain near the queen. It is at this moment that the remover is removed from the hollow and the bees are re-lit with smoke. The purpose of this process is to kill the queen and remaining family members.

Since the remover is removed, all the bees that are in it (including newly caught ones) bring honey there. As soon as they get used to it, the hive is removed and the platform is dismantled. In this case, it is recommended to hammer the hollow so that the situation does not repeat itself.

Transport over short distances

Caring for bees for beginners involves acquiring a certain amount of knowledge and how to transport bees over short distances.

Transportation of bees

Practice shows that transporting honey insects is a rather difficult task. Flight bees love to return to their original location. But there is one simple way to solve the problem.

The day before transportation, the ceilings and canvases are removed from the nest, the nest itself is covered with metal mesh. The frame is nailed to the body of the house, and insulation is placed on top.

The next morning, before the beginning of summer, the entrance is closed as tightly as possible, and the insulation is removed from the frames. The bees are left in this state for some time (about 5-10 hours).

Important! The shorter the distance over which the transportation will be carried out, the longer the house should be left closed.

It is very important that the hives receive direct sunlight. In particular hot weather Place swabs moistened with water on the mesh. Transportation to a new location is carried out on the same day. The frames can be removed the next day and the covers can be replaced.

The described recipe has been tested in practice by many beekeepers, everyone is usually satisfied with the result - the insects do not try to return to their old place. It is noted that the method works exclusively in sunny weather– on a non-flying or rainy day there will be no result.

Queen bee tagging

Queen marking is another process that anyone wishing to master the art of bee care for beginners should become familiar with.

Marking means giving the queen bee distinctive features exterior. For this purpose, different special means and devices.

There is no clear answer to the question of how necessary it is to mark the uterus. Some beekeepers are confident that marking individuals greatly simplifies their work, while others are convinced that the procedure is harmful to insects.

Marking queen bees with a marker

However, most beekeepers prefer to mark the queen bee. This is done in order to reduce the time spent searching for the queen and to understand when it should be replaced (over time, the productivity of queen bees begins to decline).

You can make marks in one of the following ways:

trim wings;
using a special marker or paint;
by gluing tags.

humpback brood

Even a novice beekeeper should know what to do if humpbacked brood appears in bees. Humpbacked, or drone brood as it is also called, can be identified by a number of characteristics. If the queen gets sick or dies, the nurse bees begin to eat her food. As a result, their reproductive function is activated, and they begin to lay unfertilized eggs, from which only drones are obtained.

Humpback brood bees

For such brood, bees begin to build large honeycombs located along the edges of the frame or in its lower part. Since the queen drone does not differentiate between normal and drone combs during the process of laying eggs, when they begin to seal, the caps turn out to be high. They determine the presence of humpbacked brood of bees.

The problem can be solved in the following ways:

Small families are easier to dissolve.
If the problem appears in the fall, such a family should be placed with a stronger one.
If there is humpback brood in a large colony, it should be transplanted to a new fertile queen. To do this, a few weeks before the end summer season the frames and canvas are removed, all the bees are shaken off them into the hive. As a result, the drone queen is deprived of her nest.
The holes in the entrance are covered with a fine mesh, and the hive itself is put in a cool place for several days. Then in the evening the house is returned to its original place, fresh frames are installed and a new queen is introduced.

Most effective method Control of humpback brood means preventing its formation. For experienced beekeepers, it will not be difficult to nip the problem in the bud.

Kandy for bees

When understanding the science of how to care for bees, it is important to master a lot of knowledge. For example, it is no less important than knowing how to attract bees to a greenhouse for pollination, to be able to cook kandi.

Kandy is a special supplement made from honey, powdered sugar and some additives.

A classic Kandi recipe for the bee family will perfectly support insects during the cool season. Preparing fertilizing is not difficult at all.

Kandy contains the following ingredients:

powdered sugar – 74%;
water – 0.18%;
vinegar – 0.02%
liquid honey – 26.8%.

The composition is prepared as follows:

Honey and sugar are placed in a bowl and heated to 55 degrees. The resulting heated mixture should not contain any crystals or lumps.
The product is cooled to about 40 degrees and powdered sugar is added. The quantity required is such that it can be absorbed by the sweet mass.
The mixture is thoroughly mixed until a dough-like consistency is obtained.
The mass is laid out on a board and kneaded (about half an hour). As a result, the composition should hold its shape, be thick, but not sticky.

Then the kandi is divided into portions of approximately 1 kg and stored.

Smoking bees

Not a single beekeeper can do without the procedure of smoking bees. The fact is that periodically the bees begin to get sick, die, or the queen needs to be replaced, but it is impossible to approach them due to their aggressiveness. Actually, the answer to the question of why bees need to be smoked becomes quite obvious in this context.

Without the use of a smoker, it will simply be impossible to approach them - the bees will defend their home and their queen to the last.

Before starting the procedure, you should understand how and with what bees are fumigated.

Typically, specialized medications are used that pose no danger to either the bees or the beekeeper.

Smoking bees

For fumigation, charcoal is placed in the smoker and allowed to flare up normally. The tablet with the drug is placed on the mesh of the smoker. As soon as the bright and acrid smoke is replaced by gray, you can begin the process.

You should prepare for the event:

Seal all places in the house where smoke can escape.
Smoke should be supplied evenly and in doses.
It is unacceptable to start fumigation immediately after igniting the mixture - this will kill the insects.
After fumigation, you cannot immediately open the house. You need to wait until the bees calm down and the medicine starts to work.

Summarizing everything described above, we can conclude that caring for bees is not the most simple work, which presupposes the presence of a certain package of knowledge, skills and abilities. But, if you approach the process thoroughly, the result of the efforts spent will exceed all expectations.

Every person involved in beekeeping must imagine all the responsibility that falls on him. He will have to constantly look after bee colonies. Honey yield directly depends on the quality of life of bees. It is especially important how they tolerate the cold season. It is necessary to try to provide high-quality wintering for all insects in the apiary so that they can resume your life activities with the arrival of spring, they began to create high-quality honey rich in vitamins.

Extension - important stage in the life of a swarm of bees. It is important because the fecal load will be approximately two times lower, which means that the bees will be able to safely survive until spring. Bees do not fly around in winter; this makes bees less sick and better adapt to difficult situations.

For working insects that collect and produce honey, there are mandatory procedures that must be completed before the onset of frost:

First. Immediately after the last honey is pumped out, it is necessary to prepare the bees for wintering. At first bees need to be inspected, in winter there will be no time for this, and to understand what exactly the apiary should receive. It is best to start fertilizing. Because of them, it will be easier for many insects to adapt to new conditions, since the place where bees overwinter is different from their usual apiary. Tired from long work, they need to receive various nutrients and vitamins. In nature, usually at the end of summer the special food - bribes - runs out. This is what they need for normal life and reproduction.

The beekeeper needs to continue feeding, since only in this case the queen will continue to actively lay eggs. But it is worth understanding that deadlines must also be met proper feeding. Many people know how to care for bees and how insects hibernate. But proper feeding in beekeeping is one of the most important actions. It must be carried out in August and must be stopped in September. During the first frost, insects should not be overfed, as this will only harm them.

Second. Simultaneously with the incentive feeding, which is necessary during growth, therapeutic feeding should also be carried out. Bees need to be given a dose of medication periodically, which can cure some cases. For example, medications for nosematosis must be taken before wintering. It is very important to ensure that insects are not affected by mites; because of them, there can be many problems and the apiary will suffer greatly in winter. This fact can significantly undermine their health and affect their performance in the future. There are a lot of drugs that can cope with this problem, and they have different ways applications, for example:

vapor sublimation;
elevated temperature;
strips;
healing herbs.

Stripes have proven themselves best. They can be bought in specialized veterinary pharmacies. These are thin wooden plates that are impregnated with some potent substance. They are placed in the hive for several weeks. When the flyover of the territories begins, the insects will begin to fly out of their houses, and the stripes will need to be removed.

Third. It is necessary to ensure that the frames on which the food is applied are light brown in color, as this is very important. This will guarantee that they are not infected with anything and will be able to provide bee colonies with a quality winter. The main condition is that you need to take care of changing queens every year, since the previous ones have already exhausted their resources and to improve the health of the offspring, their replacement is necessary.

Ways to organize wintering

After the bees have been fed and treated, you need to start preparing for winter. To do this it is necessary to arrange appropriate place, where they can wait out the frosts. There are several ways to keep insects in winter - this can be done in above-ground, underground or semi-underground buildings. All of them can perform the main function - to prevent the bees from freezing from frost or strong wind. In regions with different possible winter temperatures, it is worth choosing the most suitable option.

Many people are interested in the question of what bees do in winter; this can be answered in special literature on beekeeping, which every breeder should read from time to time.

It is best to keep bees in winter, if possible. basement, since this is where they will be most comfortable. Having chosen the place where the hives of the families will be located, it is necessary fulfill some requirements:

If all the conditions for proper wintering are met, then insects are not afraid of any natural disasters. The main thing is that their hives always remain clean and properly ventilated, then nothing will grow on their walls. plaque harmful to bees in the form of mold or something else.

You should not feed bees in winter, this is harmful to their health, since they need to rest properly before new spring, and with a full stomach they will not be able to do this.

Wintering bees outdoors

To avoid the hassle of moving bee houses indoors in the fall and out of the room in the spring, you can try spending the winter outdoors. This is convenient to do if there are not very many bees yet or if it is not physically possible to move the hives.

Getting ready organize the wintering of bees on outdoors The main thing to remember is that caring for bees in winter is different. It is important to ensure that the area is not blown from all sides. You can build a shelter for bees or leave the hive to overwinter without an additional roof. If you organize small barriers from strong winds, for example, cover a couple of sides of the hive with straw or plywood, the insects will be quite comfortable and cozy.

Required temperature conditions in wintering

In the northern regions, where it is simply necessary to create winter huts for bees to wait out the frosts, it is necessary to maintain a temperature level in them of 1 to 3 degrees below zero. This is very important, because with more high temperature the bees may not be comfortable, and at a lower temperature they may simply freeze. If the air temperature drops too much, the bees will have to consume more amount of feed provided, which can negatively affect their general condition and lead to various disorders and diseases. A crowded intestine in bees is always a sign that it will be difficult for them to adjust to proper wintering; they may have increased activity and will not gain strength before the new warm season.

Required humidity level

In the winter hut, in addition to the air temperature, it is also necessary to take care of the humidity, since in a too dry room it becomes difficult for the bees to breathe. But too much humidity may also play a role. If it is too high, various harmful deposits may form, which will serve as a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria.

Proper room ventilation does a good job of preventing rising humidity. This is especially true in the second half of washing the bees, since it is now that you should take care of them as diligently as possible. At this time, the bees produce offspring, which should get stronger by spring.

Spring care

When warming begins, insects require increased attention. Their wintering period is ending, which means that soon they will be able to leave their hives and go look for food for themselves.

First of all, when it gets warmer outside, beekeepers should start preparing for the awakening of the bees as actively as possible. After the exhibition, the bees are released from the winter hut. Insects fly over territories, this is very important. Most importantly, while the bees are busy, beekeepers should try to carry out as deep a cleaning of their houses as possible from the plaque that has accumulated over the winter. Only a clean hive can continue to be a habitat for a bee family. It is also necessary to check the walls of the structure for strength and, if necessary, carry out quick repairs.

Today, many beekeepers involved in breeding and keeping bees are trying to use new technologies in their business. Much attention is also paid to scientific literature. On the pages of thematic magazines or books you can always find answers to the question of how best to organize the wintering of bees and provide them with maximum comfort.

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