Beekeeping

What is beekeeping: definition of the type of economic activity, history of the profession

Anonim

Many people are interested in the question: beekeeping - what is it? This term is understood as a special direction in beekeeping, which involves the artificial creation of housing for bees in the form of a hollow on a tree. Bort helps to attract many wild forest bees. At the same time, it is not easy to get a large amount of honey in this way. To do this, you need to understand all the nuances of this type of activity.

What is this?

According to the definition, beekeeping is a form of beekeeping in which the hive is created in a natural or artificially created hollow of a large tree.In this case, the dwelling for insects should be located at a height of 7-15 meters. In fact, the board is an alternative to the traditional hive. In the middle of the hollow, the bees create honeycombs and make honey.

Origin story

Beekeeping was known in ancient Russia. This direction appeared before the seventeenth century and was considered one of the main activities of the Eastern Slavs. This method of beekeeping was especially widespread in the forests of the Dnieper and Voronezh. They also engaged in beekeeping on the banks of the Desna, Oka and other rivers bordering the steppes. Honey and wax were actively exported from Russia. There is evidence of this even in Yaroslav's princely Pravda.

Decay

In the nineteenth century, the technology for producing beet sugar was invented. Therefore, honey was gradually forced out of the market. In addition, apiary beekeeping has come to replace beekeeping. This was due to the invention of the frame hive.

The new design brought more honey, and therefore became much more actively used in economic activities.

Modern beekeeping

Today beekeeping is considered an almost forgotten art. People do not want to become beekeepers, because this occupation is very labor intensive. In addition, the construction of a dwelling for bees on a tree brings less honey and wax than an ordinary apiary. Therefore, this direction is considered rather a tribute to history.

However, there are still places where people engage in such activities.

For example, in the Bashkir reserve Shulgan-Tash, there are still side trees in which Central Russian forest bees live. Also, this craft remained in the Belarusian village of Kudrichi.

Varieties

Beekeepers by profession distinguish 2 varieties of this type of beekeeping - breeding a swarm in a cut log or growing bees right in a living tree. In turn, the decks are divided by design into the following varieties:

  • vertical;
  • oblique;
  • collapsible multi-level type.

Vertical cylindrical structures are more reminiscent of ancient boards. They are a sawn thick tree trunk up to 2 meters in size. In this case, in diameter, such a design should be at least 50 centimeters. It is important that there is no middle ground inside the deck. In this case, the walls should be no thinner than 5-7 centimeters. On both sides, the board is closed with wooden lids.

The reclining bed is also made from a trunk thick enough to keep the bees comfortable.

If you cannot find such a trunk, the deck can be made from boards of sufficient size. In this case, it will be possible to obtain a straight parallelepiped. This board gives a slope of up to 30 degrees.

You can also make sections and stack them on top of each other. When filling the upper element with honey, it is replaced with a new one. In this case, it is not recommended to empty the lowest section. You can add frames to the structure to get more honey.

Nuances of airborne beekeeping

People have been doing this type of beekeeping since ancient times. During this time, they managed to install several important features:

  • This type of beekeeping is recommended to be practiced in large forest areas. There should be such honey plants as lingonberries, cranberries, blueberries.
  • This activity is not suitable for beginner beekeepers. A person who is engaged in beekeeping must be familiar with the behavior of bee colonies and adequately assess all risks.
  • It is important to have the skills to use special equipment, clothing, tools to maintain the proper appearance of the hollows.

Features of wild-hive honey

Breed honey is significantly different from other varieties. Its unique properties are due to environmental cleanliness. The composition of the product does not include anything other than pollen and nectar. The composition does not contain synthetic sugars and antibiotics. This is due to minimal human intervention in the life of bees. Insects are not additionally fed or treated.

Collecting honeycombs and pumping out bee nectar is done only once a year - in the fall. Due to this, excess moisture evaporates from honey, it becomes thicker and acquires an intense aroma.Thanks to manual extraction, the product contains a lot of wax, propolis, bee bread. Wild honey has a dark hue and a viscous texture. It is devoid of strong cloying and even contains a slight sourness. At the same time, the crystallization of honey takes a long period of time.

Making borti at home

To organize your own apiary for collecting wild honey, you need to make boards or decks for settling bee colonies on your own. In this case, it is worth preparing the following:

  • part of a tree trunk;
  • sharp axe;
  • hammer;
  • chainsaw;
  • fixing hardware;
  • a fragment of roofing material;
  • piece of iron;
  • drill;
  • clay.

To make a deck yourself, it is recommended to do the following:

  • Cut out a block of wood. This can be done with a chainsaw. At the same time, the dimensions of the workpiece must be such that when it is divided into 2 parts, the thickness of each die is at least 6 centimeters.
  • Divide the sawn fragment into 2 identical parts.
  • Use a chainsaw to make cuts in the transverse direction.
  • Use a saw and an ax to remove the inside of the wood so that the wall thickness of the future structure is at least 6-7 centimeters.
  • Make a hole for the notch. It must be carefully cut with the end of the saw. In this case, it is required to step back from the top of the board 30 centimeters.
  • Fix the landing board.

Before the final collection of boards, it is required to hold the workpiece in a well-ventilated place for 2 weeks. This is required to dry the wood.

To assemble the structure, it is recommended to do the following:

  • Fasten parts on a flat surface. This must be done with nails and screws. Then you need to fix the top cover.
  • When installing the bottom cover, please note that it will need to be removed twice a year. This is necessary for extracting honeycombs and clearing the space. Therefore, this element is made removable.
  • To nail a sheet of iron or roofing material on top. This will help protect the wooden structure from precipitation.
  • Seal the log house with moss or tow. It can also be sealed with clay.
  • Proceed to the insulation of the structure. To do this, step back 70 millimeters from the upper part of the hollow and put a cross for attaching the honeycombs. Close the cross itself with burlap, and fill the remaining space with dry moss.
  • Set the finished board at a height of 50 centimeters from the ground. In this case, the inlet should be directed to the southeast.

Beekeeping is a fairly old type of activity, which today is considered not very common. However, some beekeepers prefer this method of breeding insects, as it allows you to get the most natural and high-quality honey.