Beehives of this design fully meet the modern requirements of beekeeping. The multi-case variety has gained wide popularity in countries such as America, Russia, Canada and Australia. This is due to the convenience of such a design. Keeping bees in multihull hives simplifies the work and facilitates the work of the beekeeper several times.
During the flowering of honey plants in hives of this design, it is necessary to build families. At the same time, the beekeeping method plays a key role.
In this article, we will talk about the main secrets of keeping bees in multihull hives, existing methods and technologies.
Content Methods
There are many ways to work with hive hives. Some of them allow you to increase honey production, others - to predict swarming. The most productive is considered to be the two-uterine content of bees in a multi-hive hive. This method allows you to keep a fairly strong family and predict swarming. In addition, this method gives high performance throughout the entire honey collection season.
The two-uterine bee keeping in a multi-hive hive provides for the cultivation of powerful families in the spring. At this time, the house must provide high temperature and humidity. For this, beekeepers recommend reducing the size of the nest and covering the lid with thermal insulation. The double-walled bee keeping in multihull hives is an excellent option for stationary apiaries.
The second, quite popular way is John Long's method. In this case, the main goal is to prevent swarming. When the first signs are observed, the body with the uterus and brood is removed. In its place is mounted empty with the same individual. This method has a positive effect on honey collection.
As the flowers of different cultures bloom, the beekeeper moves the houses to various places. This allows you to collect a large amount of honey. The movement of beehives also depends on climatic conditions. So, in the Krasnodar Territory, plants begin to bloom earlier than in the neighboring Rostov Region. This makes it possible to collect in several territories.
Key Features
The content of bees in multihull hives has gained wide popularity due to the fact that the collection of honey with this design of the house is significantly increased. In turn, this method is divided into 5 stages, adhering to which the beekeeper will surely get an excellent result. These include:
- Bottom cleaning. To do this, remove the case from the lower tier. This procedure is carried out immediately after the first cleansing flight. It is carried out quickly, indiscriminately. It is not necessary to increase it at this stage. This is due to the weakness of the family that survived the wintering. After the first flyby, she quickly regains strength. In this case, one box with a certain number of cells is left until the first brood.
- The second stage falls on the season of blooming honey plants. At this time, there are 9 frames in the nests. At this stage, you need to install an additional case and make layering, which is formed in a fairly simple way. In this case, two boxes are substituted for stronger bees. On one place a plywood partition. In this way, layering is done. After that, a nest of 5 brood frames and the same number of honeycombs is made. Then an additional box is mounted on a strong family, and on it is a body with a layering. Thus, the house appears on the third floor. The young uterus can be spoiled already the next day.
- This stage is carried out at the beginning of summer. At this time, the population of the main family grows and gradually moves to the second box. In this case, an increase in the nest and layering is done. This can be done by adding a third box. The upper one, in which the brood is located, is removed to the lower tier. An empty enclosure is placed on the upper level. A box with good frames is left for layering. Enlarging a nest using this technique will prevent swarming. This is due to the fact that the bees will be busy with the constant development of the nest. Bee colonies brood and gain strength for honey collection.
- The fourth stage involves the removal of plywood frames. Insects enter the main honey collection with 5 buildings. They are all filled with bees and have 40 brood frames. If the bribe exceeds expectations, then you can deliver the case.
- At this stage, the beekeeper inspects the bee colonies and cleans all the buildings with honey. However, he leaves two of them. Upper with food and lower with brood. After this, the nesting for the winter is prepared.
The content of bees in the summer
With the onset of summer, it is necessary to separate the uterus. To do this, a grid is mounted at the bottom of the hive. After four weeks, the upper and lower levels of the body must be interchanged. The enclosures must be separated by a grill. Next to it are mounted frames with printed brood.
The end result should be as follows: a case with honey is located in the lower part of the hive, followed by a printed and open brood. A uterus should be placed between them and only after that a building building should be installed.
In order to get a large amount of honey, an apiary should be placed near flowering vegetation. The most quality honey plants are: phacelia, common bruise, linden, lemon balm and safflower.
Multi-housing during the period of the main honey plant
A key feature at this time is the need to isolate the uterus. The content of bees in multihull hives during the period of the main honey plant is characterized by increased swarm intensity. At this time, the bees regularly bring up to 7 kilograms of nectar per day. Honeycombs fill up quickly enough, and there is no room for laying eggs in them. Therefore, the uterus should be isolated. When the melliferous period ends, two buildings should be left for brood families, and honey should be removed for subsequent pumping of honey.
The content of bees in the autumn
Autumn is a period of hygiene procedures. At the same time, bees in a multihull hive should receive more food. The best food in this case is honey. Alternatively, you can use sugar syrup and honey sytu. After that, the houses are prepared for wintering. Care for bees in a multi-hive hive at this time consists in removing unnecessary hulls.
Key features of the hive design
The content of bees, in which multi-level houses are used, is fundamentally different from others. This design gives the beekeeper the opportunity not to spend a lot of time and effort on house maintenance. In addition, keeping bees in a multi-horned hive provides easy transportation.
Each hive has 10-12 frames, the size of which is 43.5 x 23 millimeters. The house has at least 4 boxes. This feature is ideal for both mobile and stationary apiaries. The house visually resembles a massive column with a ledge at the entrance. It is noteworthy that multihull hives can be made independently at home. However, it is necessary to study the manufacturing technology and all the components of this house well. A multi-hive hive consists of the following components:
- Body. The width of the walls should be at least 35 millimeters. A notch with a diameter of up to 25 mm is drilled on the body. A valve must also be installed. Handles are often mounted on the sides of the case. This will facilitate its transportation. The total dimensions of the inner area of the house should be 37.5 x 45 x 34 cm.
- The bottom of the hive should be removable with a sloping flap. It is made of boards up to 3.5 centimeters thick. They should be tied on each side. The necessary clearance during the period of the main trick is done by removing the liner. Lumen parameters 37.5 x 2 cm.
- The roof is made horizontal for convenience. To avoid damage during transportation, it is made of boards 2.5 cm wide.
- Awning. This item is located at the top of the house. However, sometimes it is used as a partition between the buildings.
- The ceiling is made of 5 boards, interconnected by two stripes.
- Ventilation grill. It is made of strapping on which a small mesh iron mesh is mounted. Their size should be such that the bees could not crawl into them.
The content of bees in the hive multicase 145 mm
Houses with such a frame have a number of features inherent only to them:
- simplicity in operation;
- brood protection from hypothermia;
- high-quality printing of honeycombs;
- swift increase in swarm;
- free movement of bees in the winter from one box to another.
Most beekeepers do not use a 145 mm frame. This is due to the fact that you have to place a large number of such frames in the hive.
Benefits
Breeding bees in multihull hives has a number of advantages over other species. These include:
- design mobility - hives are easy to move, since they have a relatively small mass;
- multi-level house is easy to make yourself;
- a large living area allows the swarm to develop rapidly;
- family mergers are carried out very carefully;
- multi-housing content makes it possible to avoid swarming;
- during the movement of the buildings, the beekeeper forces the bees to build honeycombs with greater activity;
- Due to the design features in multi-tiered hives, family reinforcement is not difficult.
Wintering Features
With the beginning of the cold season, so that the bees feel good and do not get sick, they need to create favorable living conditions. The most powerful families are placed in separate buildings. Boxes with small bees are placed together. Wintering of insects should take place in a multi-tiered design. The lowest level should be occupied by brood bees. The upper tier is for feed frames.
As stocks become depleted, the bees move up the frames. After the upper tier is occupied, the lower one needs to be removed. Cleaning is best done on warm days.
At the end of wintering, the beekeeper needs to conduct a full inspection of the hive and the uterus. Keeping bees in the winter season is a simple process. It is important to provide a swarm of food for the winter in time and ensure favorable living conditions in the hives.
Housing expansion and population increase
It is much easier to increase the number of bee colonies in the hives of a multi-hull structure than, for example, in sunbeds. Expansion in such houses is carried out by installing additional boxes, which allows the uterus to produce more eggs. The technology of keeping bees in multihull hives allows you to keep several families in one house. In addition, it provides an opportunity to strengthen weak families and receive more honey.
An increase in the bee colony is carried out through the installation of additional boxes. To make the uterus produce more eggs, the upper tier of the hive must be placed at the very bottom. Thus, the uterus will instinctively move to the upper part and begin to lay more eggs. It is noteworthy that this procedure is best done in warm weather.
Space saving
An increase in the bee population may not occur. This is due to sudden changes in temperature and humidity. At this time, there is no need to expand and strengthen families.
If the weather conditions are unfavorable, then it is better not to develop small weak families. They should be placed on a smaller area. Space should be saved by dividing the buildings with overlappings. Thus, living space will be immediately provided to two bee families.
Keeping bees in multihull hives is not an easy task. It provides for a number of knowledge and skills of the beekeeper.
Rearrangement of buildings
This procedure is carried out exclusively in the spring. At this time, the flowering of the rocket begins. In order not to disturb insects, movement should be done in the evening.