Log keeping of bees, log beekeeping as a new look

Many honey lovers who want to start their own apiary are faced with the problem of arranging hives and a lack of information on the topic. To start working in beekeeping science, you can choose a simple and ancient method - log beekeeping. This line of activity is the closest to natural; it allows you to experiment and not spend a lot of time caring for the apiary.

Let's look at the main features of working with logs on the site and the principle of arranging such houses, and how to build a fence for bees with your own hands. These recommendations will allow you to collect your first honey harvest.

Content

As we said above, the indicated method belongs to the category of beekeeping for beginners, and therefore there are no tasks related to the maintenance of the hive.
The only thing that is required of the owner is to fully collect the produced honey. This must be done in the fall. In addition, in winter or spring, it is imperative to clean the nest from debris and check the condition of the family

When cleaning, pay attention to black honeycombs - they need to be removed. Otherwise, there is no need to manipulate the hive and only occasionally check the overall integrity of the housing

Before the bees move in, slats are installed inside the log hive. The quantity depends on the internal dimensions of the case. The distance between the slats is the same as between the honeycomb frames in a conventional hive. Crosses are attached to the walls. They are held in place by driven nails or nailed wooden blocks.

The basic rule for keeping bees in a log is the mandatory renewal of the nest. If this is not done, the cell size decreases over time. New bees are born small, and the productivity of the bee colony decreases. In the 3rd or 4th year, the family is sent in the fall to spend the winter in a regular hive. The inside of the log hive is cleaned, prepared, and in the spring the bees are returned to their home.

Photo gallery

Photo 1. Beekeeper at his log apiary

Photo 2. Honeycombs with honey inside a hollow hive

Photo 3. Beekeeper near log hives

Keeping bees

Maintaining bee colonies in multi-hull hives involves the main method of replacing new buildings as the amount of honey increases and the colonies develop. This allows for the reproduction of strong and active insects that remain in working order throughout the summer season.

Box beekeeping has its own characteristics, which are important to observe in order to increase the efficiency of its work:

During the winter, only a strong bee colony should be left in double-hull hives;
when located on the upper compartment of the brood, it must be swapped with the lower one;
After the top drawer is completely occupied by insects, a new one is placed on it. This will provide the queen with a place to lay eggs, and the bees will be able to feed their offspring;
the uterus should be gradually isolated using a separating grid;
14 days after the isolation of the queen bee, a new building is added to the house, intended for the construction of honeycombs and filling them with honey;
After honey collection, you need to swap boxes. Empty frames are placed at the bottom of the house on frame 145 or 230 with brood located on it;
in the fall, the frame with honey is installed on the body with the brood, this allows the bees to have a good winter.

You can learn about the features and technology of keeping insects from the video instructions.

Bee keeping methods

There are several ways to work with frame hives to get good results:

Two-part content. This method allows you to maintain strong bee colonies, prevent swarming and maintain high productivity throughout the honey harvest.
Raising strong families in the spring season. In the spring, you should maintain high temperature and humidity in the house, which will require reducing the size of the nest and covering the lid with thermal insulation material.
John Long method. This technique has the main goal of preventing swarming, for which, when signs of swarming appear, you need to remove the body with the queen bee and a small brood and install an empty body with the same individual in the hive.
Method of migration for good honey collection. As different plants bloom, the beekeeper transports houses with bees to different places, which makes it possible to ensure a large volume of honey collection.

Create your dream plot and apiary with multi-hull hives

But for this it is important to know the basic methods and technologies for keeping bees, the features of choosing frames of size 145, 156 or 230, which will increase the productivity of the apiary and increase the amount of honey produced. To do this, you need to follow all the recommendations and tips video instructions

How I became a beekeeper

The story of my friendship with bees is quite unusual. It began unexpectedly with one single thought and continues to this day, embodied in a whole series of interesting events. So where to start? Oh, well, yes, I'll start from the beginning...

My grandfather was a beekeeper. Then, in Soviet times, people were given very small plots of land, on which they placed not only a residential building with buildings, but also a vegetable garden and even a small garden! My grandfather Veniamin Ilyich Bessonov managed to place even a small apiary on his six-acre plot.

I was very little then and I don’t remember any of this, however, later, when my grandfather was no longer there, and I had entered a conscious age, one day, while sorting out old things in the attic of his house, in which no one had lived for a long time, I came across a lot of books on beekeeping and old beekeeping equipment (evidence, masks, smokers, etc.).

Leafing through these books, I saw a clear picture before my eyes - my grandfather in a beekeeper’s suit, leaning over one of the hives, straightening the frames inside, and all around there were spring blossoms, my grandfather’s apple trees were blooming in lush white color, green grass along the furrows with vegetable beds, the sun and there are lots of bees in the air, the buzz and aroma permeating everything around! This image has stuck with me for the rest of my life.

Many years passed, I became an independent adult. But apparently this image lived in the back of my memory. And then one winter evening, the thought occurs to me that next season, no matter what, I must get bees!

It was the winter of 2015, I had already been setting up my Family Estate for two years. Then I had no idea what a bee family was and how to interact with them in general, what knowledge and skills were needed to do this. I found my grandfather’s old books (it’s good that I once took them out of the attic and kept them all these years) and started studying them.

These books were Soviet and they mainly talked about frame technology for keeping bees and ways to obtain as much honey as possible per season (consumer approach), however, there was also a lot of useful information.

For example, the physiology of the bee colony, all the processes of their life activity were fully described, and a large list of honey plants was indicated, taking into account the climatic zones of the USSR, their flowering time and the amount of nectar per 1 hectare that the bee colony could collect from them.

However, I categorically did not like the methods of keeping bees indicated in Soviet books. From these books it turned out that a bee is only a source of honey, that it is a means of earning money and one must strive to get as much of this product from them as possible. In addition, it was shown that beekeeping is a complex science and not everyone can do it.

This consumer approach to bees and the complexity of their maintenance categorically did not suit me. It was necessary to look for an alternative, because my desire to have bees on the estate was strong and came from somewhere deep in my soul.

Now I realize that in the winter of 2015 I set out on a path that would lead me to people who became my close friends and like-minded people, it would lead me to the creation of the Center for the Revival of Log Beekeeping in the Perm Territory, in our settlement Far Away Kingdom.

I remembered that in the books “The Ringing Cedars of Russia” there was a small chapter dedicated to bees and there they described in detail an unusual home for them - an inclined log.

After reading this chapter again, I realized: “This is it, decks!” After all, bees live naturally in such a house, they solve all their problems themselves, people don’t interfere with them, and such a complex science as beekeeping simply disappears.

You just need to create these decks, prepare them and populate the bees there. And then nature will figure it out on its own. No sooner said than done. But in practice everything turned out to be a little more complicated.

DIY making

There are several ways to make a deck for bees. First you need to prepare the necessary materials and tools, make drawings with calculations.

For the body, a single piece of trunk or thick boards are selected. The height of the sides should be at least 120 cm, the internal diameter should be over 40 cm (slats are attached to the deck of boards from the inside to make a round cross-section, or the whole thing is made to look like a barrel).

To make a simple log for bees with your own hands, first separate 2 circles 5 cm thick from a piece of trunk. Then the remaining part (usually it is sawed in half lengthwise for convenience) is hollowed out and the core is cut out. The inner surface is treated. All parts are dried.

Both halves of the empty cylinder are held together. On one side, at the junction, a slot about 1 cm wide is cut out for the tap hole - it starts from the ceiling, occupying 75% of the height of the deck. You can drill several holes with a diameter of 2-3 cm, located one above the other. The remaining external cracks are sealed.

The bottom cover hinges and has hinges and a latch. The top one is nailed down. There are 2 crosspieces installed inside for future honeycombs: in the middle and near the ceiling.

For collecting honey and beeswax, a collapsible design is more convenient than a solid one. It consists of several hollow cylinders 30 cm high, the top one is closed with a lid.

Hive deck device

The hive deck is frameless and resembles in its appearance a part of a tree trunk with a hollowed out middle. A plug is installed at the end of the upper body, a hole is drilled on the side for the entry and exit of bees, and a lid is attached at the bottom.

Previously, to make such a hive, they took a single piece of wood - a 1.5-2 meter tree trunk, hollowed out the middle and set up a house for the bees. Now, for convenience, the trunk is cut into pieces and then assembled into a single structure.

In order for insects to love such a hive and beekeeping in logs to bring maximum results, when making such a hive you need to remember some conditions:

Large trunk girth. This is due to the fact that the internal diameter of the free space should be from 22 cm, and the wall thickness should be at least 6-7 cm.
The tree for the hive-deck must be deciduous. Poplar, oak, birch, linden, and alder are perfect.
To prevent mold and mildew from growing inside the deck, the wood must be completely dry.

Today it is difficult to find such a tree in the forest, so some beekeepers assemble decks from boards - the so-called Shapkin hive. The shape of such a hive can be not only round, but also square. It is better to cover it from the inside with a triangular strip so that the internal space resembles a circle. The insect deck should be at least 120 cm high.

Tips for novice beekeepers

It’s not enough just to make a bee; a novice beekeeper needs to know a few basic rules:

Before settling a bee colony, it is recommended to rub the inside of the log with propolis; this smell is pleasant for bees - this way they will feel at home more quickly. If you don’t have this substance at your disposal, rub the wood with herbs: mint or lemon balm.
Some beekeepers place the sides directly on the ground, but this is not true. In this case, the wood will absorb moisture and begin to rot. This can cause illness and even death in the swarm, especially in the fall and winter.
It is considered classic to secure the deck suspended on the forks of tree branches. It is advisable to install the bee house low so that it is convenient for you to work with it. In this case, a prerequisite is that the deck is inclined to the ground at approximately 30⁰.
It is recommended to collect honey from the log only after a year has passed, after the bees have settled there. Don't rush, then your efforts will be rewarded. In the upper part of the board there will be honey for the bees, in the lower part - for you.
The entrance should always be oriented to the south.
Do not place the bee house in the sun or deep shade.
Do not place hives near the barn. It is believed that bees smell well and such an unpleasant neighborhood can force them to leave the hives.

As you can see, it’s not at all difficult to make a fence with your own hands and start breeding bees. If you put several of these houses on your plot, your whole family will enjoy tasty and healthy honey.

Background

Log beekeeping was especially common among the Eastern Slavs: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, especially developing in the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries. And even now in Polesie there are old apiaries with logs attached to trees in the forest or even in cemeteries. The Russian scientist, academician V. Severgin, who traveled in 1802 through the territory of Belarusian Polesie, was struck by how widespread beekeeping was there. He noticed that in the forests there there could be two or three hives attached to a pine tree. And according to inventory records of 1846, 118,000 decks were counted in the Minsk province. In those days in Polesie, each peasant household had on average one to one and a half hives with bee colonies.

Bee nesting logs were usually made from the trunk of a hollow tree with a rotten core. In Polesie it was most often pine or other coniferous tree

When choosing a suitable deck, it is important to ensure that the tree, although rotten at the core, is not affected by fungus or rot

Initially, the logs were hung on trees, and then they learned how to attach them to special platforms made on tree trunks or stretched between them. Forest plots on which there were many logs of one owner were called patrimony in the eastern regions of Polesie, and the beekeeper himself was called votchich.

Gradually, due to an increase in the honey tax levied on each log, and in connection with deforestation, log beekeeping migrated from the forest to peasant households. At first, peasants hung logs with beehives on garden boundaries, in orchards, and in cemeteries. The fact that bees began to be in close proximity to people's homes made it easier to care for and control them. And so gradually apiaries began to form in their modern, familiar form.

Log beekeeping is the best option for beginner beekeepers

Breeding bees in traditional hives requires a lot of labor and material investment. For those who are just planning to join beekeeping, experienced beekeepers recommend starting with a hive-deck. For beginners, log beekeeping is a more affordable form of keeping bee colonies and a great start to starting an apiary business.

The first form of this branch of the economy in our country was side beekeeping, the essence of which was that a hollow (bort) was hollowed out in tree trunks to populate a swarm. This created conditions that were as close as possible to the habitat of wild bees.

For this purpose, tall trees with a powerful trunk were chosen to make the side more than 4 meters from the ground, since bees do not like to settle low. Only after 2 years the beet was ready to be populated by bees.

To increase honey collection, beekeepers made additional sides from hollow trees. The tree trunk was allowed to dry out to protect it from both rotting and cracking. Then they sawed it into two parts and hollowed out the middle. This is where two more names for borti came from - dugout and deck. The blanks were made 1–2 meters high, choosing a trunk with a diameter of more than 80 cm. The upper and lower holes were sealed with wooden circles. Holes for bees were made at the top and bottom of the deck.

The goal was to place the logs high in the trees to create natural conditions for the bees. They were attached to the tree using ropes.

Log beekeeping, characterized by its high labor intensity, gradually transformed into the apiary form. Logs made from chopped trees were placed on the ground, hence the word apiary. This approach was a definite impetus for the development of the industry, as work began on selecting bees, strengthening weak families, and honey collection became more gentle for bees, since some began to be left for them to overwinter. Artificial borders turned out to be more mobile; beekeepers had the opportunity to install them in places with a large amount of honey-bearing vegetation.

Structural varieties

An apiary log is a housing for a bee family in the form of a wooden hollow. To make honeycombs inside, fix a couple of poles. Honey is collected through special holes using inserted sticks.

Side parameters – 1 m (length) x 0.5 m (width).
Number of nests – 1-3 (harmless for plants).
The height of the lower tier is no more than 4.5 m, in exceptional cases – up to 15 m.
The highest quality honey is obtained from the upper levels of the borti
The approximate volume of production from a hollow is 2.5 buckets.
The service life of the board is over 300 years.

Manufacturing

At the moment, there are several ways to create the above structure. We analyze the most popular and at the same time simple variations.

We suggest you familiarize yourself with How to cook paste from potato starch

From a tree trunk

This method is extremely simple and to reproduce it you need to find the tree trunk itself and hollow out the core in it. Of course, after that you need to equip it for bee housing. So, describing the process of the task itself, it is necessary:

Saw the resulting material into two parts, then hollow out the core in one of them;
Make two cuts that will later become longer lasting. In other words, these are the upper and lower covers of the housing;
The resulting parts must be connected in such a way that one seam leaves a tap hole at a height of about 0.3 m from the bottom. Moreover, it should occupy approximately 0.75 of the length of the structure and have a gap of approximately 8 millimeters;
If there are any gaps left on the outside, they should be sealed with clay;
Securing the top and bottom covers. The first is secured with nails, and the second must be opened at the same time, which will make it possible to later collect honey from the log;
Make two crosses on the inside - the bees will build honeycombs in them.

From boards

Keeping bees in this type of deck is somewhat more complicated, but still acceptable. In addition, before starting work, it is recommended to create drawings of the future structure. We will tell you directly about how to make a deck for bees with your own hands:

For the body, we choose a bottomless box with approximate dimensions of 3.5 by 31.5 by 22 cm. The thickness is not limited, but the most preferable would be from 3.5 centimeters;
Next, the body is equipped with a plywood sheet on the inside and plastic on the outside. Be sure to additionally lay insulation in the form of cardboard or foam between the layers;
For longer life, impregnate the plywood with propolis wax;
At the end of the beehive deck you need to add a roof. It can be made from scrap materials and finally covered with roofing iron or roofing felt.

So, you have decided to make a beekeeping deck according to the drawing with your own hands. The process is so simple that you hardly even need a diagram, let alone a drawing. A deck for bees is made in several stages:

Take a piece of wood; it must be dry. Otherwise, in the future, rot and mold will appear in the deck, which will lead to insect diseases. Mark a circle of the appropriate size to carefully remove the wood. Remember that the bee deck should have a wall thickness no thinner than 6 cm, and an internal free space with a radius of at least 20 cm.
Use a saw to cut the wood to the specified diameter. Some experienced beekeepers say that it is better to work with a regular or electric saw. Otherwise, the smell of gasoline when using a chainsaw will be absorbed into the wood and will further repel bees.
Remove the chopped wood using a chisel and hammer.
We clean the inner walls with sandpaper so that they are smooth and without burrs.
We close the upper part with a cut and nail it.
We attach another cut to the lower part with hinges so that in the future we can get to the honey. We seal it with fabric so that there are no gaps.
Use a drill to drill a tap hole with a diameter of no more than 6-8 cm.
We cover the deck with a roof made of straw or sedge.

There are times when the height of the deck you found is not enough. Then, to achieve the required size of the bee house, 2 or 3 separate tree trunks are made and fastened together.

If you don’t have a hive deck and making such a house is problematic for you, we offer instructions for making a lightweight version of the combi from boards:

The bars are tightly connected, glued or fastened with screws.
They are tied with hoops or belts.
In order for the inner part to be as close in shape as possible to the hollow, sharp corners are rounded with slats.
The top and bottom covers are secured and the taphole is cut.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with House plans and drawings with dimensions for free: how you can draw a drawing online in programs

Wedged deck on wood, my experience

In 2016, I was lucky enough to attend a gathering of beekeepers-well-keepers in the settlement of family estates “Svetorusye” in the Sverdlovsk region, where I met the leader of the meeting, Mikhail Stefanov, with his approach to beekeeping and his unique design of decks. Now Misha is my close friend and like-minded person.

In 2022, we installed the first tree deck on the estate using Misha’s technology and with his active participation. This deck has no frames, is cone-shaped and has a much larger volume than a deck on the ground, it has thicker walls and is made from solid wood, which allows the wood to “breathe” and conduct moisture.

The walls inside the deck are rough, the deck itself is made of poplar, burnt inside and out, the entrance is solid, narrower, slit-shaped, the deck inside is coated with propolis, and a propolis canvas taken from an ordinary hive is attached to the bottom cover.

The process of making such a deck is very labor-intensive, it requires a lot of physical strength and dexterity when working with the tool, and only men can do it, since it is a lot of physical labor. You also need to find a solid log with a diameter of 50 cm or more, preferably hardwood. Poplar, linden and aspen are ideal.

But if one day you “get confused” and make such a deck, then consider that you have provided yourself with honey for the rest of your life, and honey of excellent quality. Moreover, after installing it, you don’t need to do anything else except assess the condition of the family 2 times a year and take excess honey.

Learn more about how to make and install such a deck in our VKontakte group “Deck beekeeping. Theory. Practice.” There is a lot of photo and video material collected there, there are articles and all our experience of working with various types of decks is shown.

Look for only hardwood logs for your deck. It is better not to use coniferous species to make a bee house, since they do not like resin inside their home; for them it is a danger, because a bee caught in a drop of resin will most likely die without being able to get out.

We had a wedged log on a tree that self-populated in June 2017, swarming from a frame log on the ground. And now I could observe bees in two completely different living conditions, compare them, and draw conclusions. Later, we hung 4 more such decks around the perimeter of our site.

In the spring of 2022, we inspected all of our decks and found out the following:

There is much less waste in a wood deck than in frame decks on the ground, and this waste is absolutely dry.
All the walls of the log on the tree are perfectly dry, there is not a hint of mold or moisture, the family overwintered well and began to work actively with the first spring bribe.
For the first time, we managed to take “winter” honey from a log on a tree, since the bees still had a lot of reserves.

In addition to the above, I can also include the following observations as the advantages of a deck on a tree:

Since there are no frames in the deck, the bees pull the comb in any direction, building up the entire space of the deck, creating a unique honeycomb pattern.
The honeycomb has a larger cell, which produces larger bees that can collect more nectar and pollen.
The high setting keeps the deck dry in all seasons and provides excellent ventilation, and also protects the deck from bear attacks.
The thick walls of the deck save bees from woodpeckers and martens.
In such a deck, the family very quickly increases its mass, fights diseases well on its own and brings large volumes of honey.
Bees in such decks are more aggressive, which helps them fight against uninvited guests who want to plunder their nest, be it humans, animals or other bees.
Such a deck is hung only in the forest among the trees, which protects it from the winds, unlike decks installed in a field in an open space.

All this led me to the conclusion that tree logs are a natural and safe home for bees in all respects. And if we remember our history, then in ancient times beekeeping and logs on trees were the only way of beekeeping among our ancestors. From personal experience, I now understand how wise their approach to bees was at that time.

Do you want to receive up-to-date information from us about log beekeeping? Then click here and you will always be up to date with the latest events on our deck apiary (if you haven’t received the link, check the spam folder in your mail).

Today, side and log beekeeping is experiencing a rebirth. People who strive to live on the earth and in harmony with nature have begun to realize that classical beekeeping is, at a minimum, harmful to bees and is more like a business than a reasonable and careful attitude towards these insects.

In Bashkiria there is still a place where people have managed to preserve the traditions of on-board beekeeping and a careful, respectful attitude towards bees. I’m talking about the Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve, whose on-board experience is now being actively adopted by beekeepers around the world.

On the YouTube channel “Videoapaseka Beekeeping” there is an excellent video about the life of bees in this reserve and about the unique work of beekeepers. I advise you to watch the video to the end!

In the spring of 2022, we hung two more similar logs on the trees, which successfully self-populated during the swarming period. And now, in our family estate, an “eternal bee system” has been launched (read more about this phenomenon in the article by Mikhail Stefanov) and we do not need to engage in “beekeeping” in the classical sense of the word.

By the way, Mikhail Stefanov annually publishes the magazine “Pcheloved”, in which he shares his vast experience in forest log beekeeping, teaches how to make and install logs on trees, and talks about the spiritual component of human communication with bees.

If you are interested in the theory and practice of log beekeeping, then I advise you to order this magazine, it is inexpensive. In it you will find a lot of useful information and practical experience of different people. You can order by writing to Mikhail on VKontakte in private messages.

Log beekeeping and the history of its development Barrel of Honey

Log beekeeping, as we have already said, is one of the methods that allows bees to be housed in conditions as close to nature as possible.

In this regard, a distinctive feature of the option implies almost complete independence of the bees.

There is no need to carry out any additional care for the apiary, other than proper collection of honey, and therefore there is no need to disturb the residents. Nowadays this type is commonly called a maintenance-free hive.

If we talk briefly about the colonization procedure itself, then at first a standard colonization takes place in the log and the beekeeper can only observe the entire process.

At this moment, the bees arrange a new home according to their own needs.

That is, the entrance is covered with propolis and only holes remain for flight, the honeycombs begin to be created close to each other and at the same time they have two varieties - one for storing honey, and the other for the queen and larvae.

Installation of ready-made decks

There are many different books on log beekeeping. In them you can learn about methods for installing a house for insects, as well as about the features of such a farm. Correct placement is a very important step. To do this, you will need a bright place on the site, protected from the wind. At midday, the deck should be in the shade.

At the same time, there should not be any barnyard nearby, since bees are sensitive to odors, for which reason they may even leave their homes. There must be a canopy over the house that will protect it from rain and additionally create shade.

The deck is installed at a height of approximately 70 cm from the ground surface. It is mounted on a special frame, the inclination of which should be about 30 degrees. At the top of the hive there will be honey, which should be left by the insects for the winter. At the bottom there will be a product that the beekeeper can pick up.

What are the disadvantages of log beekeeping?

The main problems arising during on-board beekeeping:

it is difficult to get honey from the log;
problems with treating swarms infected with varroa.

According to experienced beekeepers, these problems are completely solvable. Thus, honey can be obtained not only by smoking insects from their home, but also through a specially made door in the bottom. Some beekeepers still check the hole in the honey.

Varroatosis, of course, can be a more serious problem, especially if your swarm is not yet strong enough, but over time, bees living in natural conditions become stronger and more resistant to diseases, and their immunity, which is inherent in nature at the genetic level, is restored.

Structure of a log hive

The log hive is fundamentally no different from its historical predecessor – the borti. Therefore, modern log beekeeping is essentially the same beekeeping, with the same principles and rules.

And if the side was simply a hollowed-out hollow log, then the log hive has a tightly attached lid on top.

Old decks that have survived and are still in use today are sometimes a hundred or even three hundred years old.

There are two ways to install logs in an apiary: place them vertically on wooden blocks (risers) or lay them on the ground (beds). Sometimes sun loungers are placed at an angle of 45 degrees.

In the videos presented on the Internet you can see exactly what a log hive looks like, the process of its manufacture and installation.

Preparation and settlement of bees

To install the boards, choose a place on the site that is as sheltered from the wind and strong sun as possible; it is especially important to provide shade during the midday period. The entrance is placed on the south side of the garden. You should also avoid a farm or barn with livestock nearby, as insects react to strong odors and may leave the home because of them. You will need to put a rain shelter over the deck.

Important: it is optimal if the deck is located in the attic or home attic, since their height is suitable for bees to fly.

The installation height of the hive is approximately 0.7 m from the ground surface. It is placed on a frame with an inclination of no more than 30 degrees. At the top there will be honey, which is left for the bees to spend the winter, at the bottom - the product collected by the beekeeper.

After assembling the sides, you need to dry the finished structure. This may take approximately 1 year or more; during this period, bees, wasps, or hornets may settle in the deck. As soon as spring comes, their nesting mass is crushed and poured into the bottom of the beet to attract a swarm of bees, this is a way to catch and settle bee families.

If the bee deck has been empty for over a year, it needs to be cleaned of dirt before the housewarming. The walls are scrubbed of plaque and the smell, if any, is removed with mint infusion.

If the bees do not want to populate themselves, you can use a special “bee package” for breeding bees. It is placed in the deck using a wooden ladle. The queen is placed in the log hive and secured in the cage with a stick. The uterus should be young, no older than 3 years. In the future, the uterus must leave the cage, otherwise it must be released.

Specifics of beekeeping at home

Before starting a new business, the pioneer decides where to start. Having mastered the theory, the beginner moves on to the practical development of the basics of modern beekeeping. His initial actions should be:

in selecting a place for an apiary that meets the necessary conditions;
in the acquisition of beekeeping equipment;
in the selection of highly productive breeds suitable for the surrounding climatic conditions.

Breeding bees for beginners involves meeting some basic conditions. Necessary:

make sure the neighbors don't object;
organize an apiary away from the highway, noisy places (bees cannot tolerate loud sounds);
be sure to surround the apiary with a high fence;
place the hives at a distance of 50 meters from housing and 10 meters from the edge of the site;
choose an area surrounded by trees - this will avoid a lot of bee diseases;
place the apiary in a quiet, comfortable place, protected from the wind;
install a row of hives every 5-6 meters, and leave gaps between the rows of 4-5 meters;
turn the houses with a slight slope to the south for better illumination.

Places with high humidity or near industrial enterprises are unsuitable for locating an apiary - these factors can lead to frequent illness among bees. It is advisable if honey plants grow in the vicinity of the hives, but this is not necessary: the bees can be moved from time to time to more favorable places to collect nectar.

Log apiary

Modern beekeeping requires a large investment of time and attention for beginners. You can help minimize the problem using the deck method. Breeding bees in logs involves the least intrusion into the existence of insects, which have absolute independence. This is why this method is most suitable for beginners: all they have to do is collect honey.

The advantage of such an apiary is not only that it is economical, but also that the insects in them are healthier. In the deck, the bees arrange housing the way they want, they themselves determine the size of the honeycombs, which are often large and located next to each other. The number of inhabitants of such a hive is also often greater than that of a normal one. A novice beekeeper will have to deal with such hives only twice a year: in the fall, collect honey, and in the spring, restore order by replacing small black honeycombs in which young insects will not be able to develop normally. They begin to pump honey only a year after the bees move into the log. If you follow certain rules, the results can be impressive.

Pavilion keeping of bees

The advantage of breeding insects in special pavilions over placing them outdoors is the ability to maintain a favorable temperature in the hive, protected from the vagaries of the weather. A pavilion with wheels relieves the beekeeper of the problems of loading and unloading, provides mobility during delivery to fields with flowering plants and continuity in collecting honey throughout the spring.

The choice of bee breed depends on their productivity, endurance, peaceful nature, frost resistance and honey production. Insects accustomed to warmth will not take root in the northern regions. For many beekeepers, the ability of bees to extract honey from certain flowers is important.

When purchasing, they also pay attention to their character: they try to choose the most peaceful, non-aggressive, and also disease-resistant

Many breeds have been created that meet these requirements. Recently, a new species of buckfast bees has appeared, which quickly gained recognition among amateur beekeepers. The insects turned out to be more resilient and profitable than planned. In appearance they resemble the Italian look.

Beekeepers prefer breeding buckfast bees due to many factors, for example, accelerated development compared to other types. Their significant advantage is their peaceful nature. These insects do not suffer from bad weather and adapt well to any conditions. The breed is characterized by high fertility of queens, which allows them to quickly increase the swarm and its productivity. Serious disadvantages of bees are the inability to tolerate low temperatures and the difficulty of queen reproduction.

Advantages and disadvantages

This approach to beekeeping has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

Environmental friendliness: there is no use of artificial materials when arranging honeycombs; There are no drugs used to prevent diseases or destroy pests.
Since the swarm is not disturbed, it is less prone to stings by beekeepers, and the sides are quite freely and safely installed in suburban areas, in close proximity to neighbors.
The bees themselves form the internal space of the deck, build honeycombs to their liking, the side inside is completely filled, and the holes in the walls of the deck are eliminated. This reduces diseases, bees live longer, become more resilient, and the quality of honey increases.
Maintaining the deck becomes cheaper and less time-consuming: there is no need to constantly monitor the health of the bee colony or feed it. Many apiary tools are not required.
For wintering bees, you do not need a separate room, which is necessary for standard hives. The internal volume of the board, even with significant temperature changes, ensures safe wintering of the swarm.

Flaws

The deck contains relatively little honey. The beet serves more for the convenience of living of a swarm of bees than for the production of honey.
The log is not opened for a whole year after the family moves in - the insects settle in and create a reserve for the first wintering.
The edge leaves only a little free space to collect honey; the honeycombs are quite difficult to remove. How quickly the bees restore their supply depends only on the colony.
The walls of the deck on the inside are completely occupied by honeycombs, which fill almost the entire internal space of the deck, and old honeycombs tend to become clogged. For this reason, they have to be cleaned. This must be done at least once every five years, since bees will not live in a littered bee - the swarm will go elsewhere.

What is log beekeeping?

This type of beekeeping originated in ancient times. In order to avoid the need to look for honey in the sides of trees, people replaced them with logs. It is the deck that represents a home for bees, in which insects can build their nest as they want, and not as the beekeeper programs them. In such natural “houses” honey turns out tastier and richer.

A modern apiary requires constant attention from the beekeeper. In addition, you have to devote a lot of time to it during the honey collection period, which is very long. Breeding bees in logs is good because it involves minimal interference in the lives of bees. Therefore, an apiary made from logs is perfect for novice amateur beekeepers, since they do not have to participate in any way in the life of the bee family. The only thing you need to do is collect honey.

Ease of arrangement

A hive in the form of a deck is the best option for a novice beekeeper. A modern development of this type of hive, “Combi,” can be purchased at a specialized store. But there are ways to do it yourself. To do this, you will need to slightly modify the classic hive. The hive bodies of Dadan Blatt are best suited for creating a log hive; in it, the internal space of the hive is larger and more conveniently arranged. We advise you to immediately find or buy a Dadan hive with a bee colony, and then remake it as a log hive.

Thus, you will need a bottom and a nesting body on the frame, a reinforcing pad and canvas, a lid, a liner and a housing on the low frame. Additionally, purchase two nesting bodies, from which you will make a deck, then placing it between the bottom of the hive and the body. The resulting structure is a hive - a deck.

Please note that if the bee family is old, then most likely they will begin to swarm. To prevent this, you need to expand the nest and improve the ventilation process by installing an additional magazine housing. Already in the first season you will get delicious honey. And in the next years, you will have high-quality natural honey from the deck part of the hive.

How to make it yourself?

You can create such a house for working women with your own hands from solid wood or several boards. For the first case, you will need a ready-made deck, which can be made hollow using a saw.

If there is no suitable log, you can use long bars (1.5 m long), cut in the form of a trapezoid (6 by 10). They are fitted tightly, placed on glue or screws and tightened with belts. The diameter of such a structure for bees is up to 47 cm. In such a house for insects, you should make an entrance (it is located in the middle of the structure), and at the bottom there should be a hole for garbage.

Tools and materials

1 ready-made hollow 40 cm by 120 cm with walls 4-8 cm thick;
1 cover board for a 40 cm hollow;
fabric for lining the lid and fastening for it;
glue, bolts, fasteners and other auxiliary materials.

Manufacturing instructions

Close one side of the workpiece tightly (it should be located on top). Take the future lid and carve it so that it tightly covers the hive

Note the fabric lining on the lid. It will not make it easier to open the deck. The lid can be attached with hinges or a handle can be made on it

Measure 30 cm from the opening side and make slits (tapholes), the height of which will be no more than 1.5 cm. Dry the structure thoroughly. Place the house under a canopy at an angle of 20-30°, opening side down. Populate the house with bees. The most convenient way to do this is using the swarm method.

The lid can be attached with hinges or a handle can be made on it. Measure 30 cm from the opening side and make slits (tapholes), the height of which will be no more than 1.5 cm. Dry the structure thoroughly. Place the house under a canopy at an angle of 20-30°, opening side down. Populate the house with bees. The most convenient way to do this is using the swarm method.

A prototype deck, which is a natural beehive, can also be made from 4 (or more) boards. A visual demonstration of such a design can be found in the video online or in the picture below.

Drawing of a beehive deck made of boards

Dimensions and drawing

In order for the future house to be harmoniously built, it is worth paying attention to the parameters of the entire structure. It is better to work scrupulously on the drawing than to redo everything later.

Use a cutter to cut circles from a wooden log, from the ends, several centimeters wide, or take a couple of boards for this.
The trunk is sawed with a chainsaw and the wood is removed using a chisel to create a hollow 6 cm in diameter for the hive.
The hollow is rubbed with coarse sandpaper for smoothness.
The holes at the top and bottom are closed with saw cuts, the top one is nailed, the bottom one is secured with hinges. This will help insects get inside the hollow in the future. The lids of the sides are immediately covered with fabric so that the bees build honeycombs on it.
Using a drill you need to drill a tap hole - diameter 9 mm.

Important: if you don’t have a whole 1.5 m log, you can vertically connect several small scraps using self-tapping screws.

The inside walls are smeared with propolis mass, which lures insects to colonize the new house.
The bead is secured to the tree trunk using ropes or to a spear between large branches.

The log apiary is the best option for beginners

Working with beads does not require much effort or expense; this is an old method of easy beekeeping. There is no need to replace frames, redo the design, maintain or maintain bees. It is enough to periodically remove the honeycombs so that the bees start building new ones again and do not start swarming. Interference in the inner world of bees is minimal.

This is not an innovative approach, but a time-tested, easy way to obtain honey. If it is difficult for someone to carry out large-scale care of an apiary, then beekeeping in logs is quite accessible with good results. The finished honey will be enough to meet your needs.

Log beekeeping is not dangerous, but it is better to wear special protection - a smoker suit. To collect honey products, you should choose the time wisely, when the bulk of the swarm flies away for its biological purposes.

Frames in the deck

Specifics of the boards: special waxed frames are not installed here. But to obtain a large volume of honey, you can supplement the side design with your own frame options. If the deck is made of a solid log, then you can build small opening doors on the back side. This will allow you to inspect the nest and remove honeycombs if necessary.

The frames are placed at the top of the hollow, under an insulated lid, where insects nest and store honey for the winter.

Multi-hull hives - secrets of keeping bees

Keeping bees in multi-hull hives is carried out according to the same basic principles as working with other bee houses. The beekeeper's task is to grow strong bee colonies capable of ensuring good honey production.

To store honey in this design, new housings are required, installed on top of the nest. You can also use up to three magazine extensions (three bodies and the same number of magazines).

We talked about the structure of a multi-body hive, its dimensions, drawings in a separate article: Multi-body hives - appearance, design

Extension

The first expansion of the nest in a multi-body hive is carried out after filling the upper body with brood. Below there are almost no young animals ready to emerge at this time.

Expansion is carried out by replacing the housings - the lower one is installed on top, and the upper one goes down.

The recommended period is from early to mid-May. This work requires warm and sunny weather to avoid chilling the brood in the lower section of the house.

A successful manipulation gives the “queen” bee a place to lay eggs - she willingly moves up. It is noticeably warmer here and there are empty honeycombs.

And in order to prevent the awakening of the swarm instinct, the bees in the upper building are given several frames with artificial foundation. They feed and raise the young, while simultaneously building fresh honeycombs. As you know, the queen loves newly built dry land. Insects on such a frame grow large and strong.

By mid-May the hive looks like this:

Second stage of expansion

In approximately two weeks, the third housing should be installed. This is the second stage of expansion. It is carried out after the entire second body is filled with brood frames and the young animals emerge in the lower section of the hive. At this moment the house becomes crowded.

Recommended dates are the first ten days of June.

The body elements are moved and supplemented as follows:

Already installed housings are swapped again - the upper section goes down, and the lower section rises up.
At the same time, a third building is placed between the two already inhabited sections of the structure.
In the third body, mainly foundation is installed. Two low-copper covering frames are also required.

The bee house by June 6-10 looks like this:

At the bottom there is open, younger brood. Next comes the foundation, since during this period of the year the bees build the honeycombs well. And in a bee farm, the stock of them for each hive should be at least 40 pieces! There will be printed brood at the top. This expansion method is called nest breaking. It is used to stimulate the building instinct. Preoccupied with the rupture, the insects stretch the honeycombs in literally five to ten days.

Third stage of expansion

The development of bees in multi-hull hives occurs quite rapidly. Two weeks after the second expansion, the bee houses will need another new building. By mid-June the hive looks like this:

The lower section containing mature (printed) brood is installed third. In its place is a new building (the fourth since the beginning of the spring expansion), completely filled with foundation. Above the printed brood there is a section with dry food and honey. And under it, on the “second floor,” unsealed brood grows.

The “queen” is limited by a dividing grid in the two lower buildings. This method, along with the installation of foundation exactly in front of the lower entrance gap, is an effective anti-swarm technique. It also helps to quickly increase the strength of the bee colony.

At the same time, fresh honey quickly accumulates in the two upper sections of the bee house, because the first half of June is a period of rapid flowering of wild and garden plants.

Fourth stage of expansion

After another two weeks, another rearrangement of buildings is undertaken. Recommended deadlines are before the beginning of July. You can focus on the beginning of sunflower flowering.

This is what the hive looks like after the next stage of expansion:

The printed brood, together with the third section, rises above the dividing grid. Instead, second from the bottom, a new casing with foundation is placed.

The presence of foundation in a bee house plays the same role as in the spring - it distracts insects from swarming, mobilizes them for construction, and the “queen” for laying fresh eggs. After installing the fifth body, the queen continues to work in the two lower sections. This serves to limit the clutch, but at the same time does not prevent the family from maintaining strength. All sections of the hive located above the dividing grid will be completely filled with fresh honey.

Elements of a collapsible deck

Depending on the conditions for collecting honey in a particular area, the deck may have four or five tiers.

The cross section inside each tier should be no more than thirty centimeters.

The height of each tier is approximately the same. The cross-section of the deck is directly proportional to the height of each tier.

Based on the internal diameter of the deck, from seven to nine rulers made of plastic are inserted vertically into the tier, and their thickness is up to four millimeters and their width is fifteen millimeters.

The plates need to be treated with wax. A two-kilogram swarm can be housed in three tiers or more.

If there is a good supply in the summer, the family will build a nest and stock up on food for the winter. In one of the issues of the magazine “Beekeeping” for 1985, Novosibirsk beekeeper M.I. Chirkov describes a hollow found at the end of June. “The hollow was 163 centimeters high and 34 centimeters wide. Six honeycombs were built inside from north to south.

The honeycombs were located at a distance of five centimeters from the bottom. In the upper part of the hollow there was a lot of honey, mostly sealed. There is also a lot of honey and bee bread in the lower part. There are about eighty kilograms of feed reserves in total.” And we use a deck one and a half meters high. It is impossible to place 80 kilograms of honey in such a deck. So you shouldn’t wait until honey takes up all the space inside the nest.

What is log beekeeping?

"Disadvantages" of log beekeeping

This method has several “disadvantages”, which are as follows:

If the bees don't like anything, they will immediately throw the deck. You will not be able to fix this problem on your own.
There is no way to have any influence on the life of the bees. If you decide to install a deck for these insects, then remember that you will not have any opportunity to conduct breeding work.

Based on this, before installing logs in your apiary, you need to finally decide whether you are ready to collect honey using this method. If your interest is purely commercial in nature, then this method is not the best option for you. However, if you want your family to eat high-quality, natural and maximally healthy honey, then feel free to install such analogues of hives in your apiary. The honey that you collect from them will be much more aromatic and tastier. In addition, it has real healing properties.

The log and modern beekeeping

The deck is an ancient method of obtaining honey, which is convenient and simple. Due to the spacious volume of the home and its durability, it can accommodate a large family. The bees are provided with maximum comfort and produce more honey. This is an economical and simple method, accessible even to beginners.

All work with the log comes down to the fact that you need to clean the hollow in the spring and take out part of the honey reserves in the fall. Insects do all the main work themselves: repairing holes, masking ventilation holes, distributing internal space for honey and useful materials. Prevention and constant monitoring of the condition of the hive is not required, unlike modern houses with high-tech devices.

Another feature of log honey: it has a special taste and consistency. But the total volume will ultimately be 3-5 times more modest than from a modern hive, which is characterized by increased technology. Decks are optimal for hobbyists, not professionals who produce honey on a commercial scale.

What are they?

With the development of beekeeping, the migration of bees from wild natural habitats to the immediate surroundings began. For their comfortable living, special dwellings were built - decks. Such a deck was made from a thick stump of ridge. Its length could reach one and a half meters. All the insides were hollowed out, and a hole was made on the side, which was closed with holes with holes for the entrance. Honey was taken through a hole, and bees were examined through it. Previously, the upper part of the deck was proudly called “head”, and the lower part was called “heel”.

Crosses were attached to the “head” from the inside, and the bees placed their honeycombs on them. The deck was covered with birch bark or a straw roof. A swarm landed in it, and in the summer honeycombs were broken out of the “heel”. Different decks were made in different regions of the country; they differed in their weight and design, horizontal and vertical position.

"Combi"

The hive deck of the Combi type is a stationary, maintenance-free system. It makes beekeeping accessible to people with disabilities, women and beginners, because it is so easy to use.

Peculiarities

Such a hive has absorbed the best qualities that are inherent in log breeding of bees. Compared to classic hives, working with such a device requires minimal effort. The deck does not contain frames, there is no need to rearrange the cases, there is no need to maintain and expand frames. How much time does it take to maintain the entire hive? All the work consists only in removing a certain number of honeycombs so that the bees do not sit idle.

It should be remembered that the resulting honey is not suitable for commercial activities. They get it only for themselves. If you need mass production, then your path lies with classic evidence.

In the “Combi” hive-deck, the bee colony is left to its own devices, leading a natural and natural way of life for it. It also allows you to install a magazine housing during the main honey collection, which is much closer to the modern beekeeper. Although, such honey will be of slightly lower quality.

Advantages

The advantages of such a hive are a very successful combination of a natural hollow and a modern Dadanovsky evidence. Frames are used in the upper part of the body, which allows the beekeeper to populate the deck with more than just a swarm. The frame part of the deck is very useful in early spring, when the bee colony is growing in strength. If any difficulties arise, the beekeeper can intervene in the life of the family. In such a hive, bees do not need to be fed for the winter.

The frame compartment of the evidence contains an additional entrance on the side. This favors the fact that the queen begins to lay eggs in early spring, that is, the family quickly gains strength. The frame part of the body is not intended for honey collection, it serves only for bees to nest there. The lower third of the hive stores honeycombs. It is removed from the back wall. The bottom is equipped with an anti-varroa mesh.

Unlike the option discussed above, a log-type hive in the form of a hollow is not combined with a traditional one. This model completely replicates a natural hollow, equipped only with crosses for ease of working with comb honey. Making it with your own hands is as easy as shelling pears, as long as your hands grow from where they need to be.

Pros and cons of the method

Log beekeeping has a number of its own advantages and disadvantages. We will highlight the most important indicators. So, the generalized list includes the following items. Advantages:

Honey is collected from the hive several times a year and before wintering the bees are left with only sugar syrup, which weakens the bees’ immune system. In the case of bee blocks, some of the honey itself remains, which avoids such problems;
The ability to build cells according to your own wishes. Here, residents are not limited by artificial models and can build cells of the appropriate size themselves. In this regard, the larger the honeycomb, the larger and stronger the future individuals;
Large dimensions compared to a standard hive. Along with the size, the number of housing composition increases;
Less money spent on maintenance;
The option of making a deck is great for beginners, because it allows you to practically not have to deal with the maintenance of the hive.

Flaws:

The need for careful harvesting. In this case, you have to cut out the honeycombs, and sometimes with this procedure there is a large risk of hitting individuals, which will significantly reduce their numbers;
The ability of bees to move to another place;
Elimination of control over the process. We already wrote above that a hive-deck implies complete independence of bees.

Preface

Log beekeeping is also called “lazy”, because there is no need to constantly “shake” over your hives, rearrange frames, carry out anti-swarm work, fight bee diseases, dampness, drag the hives into the omshanik for wintering, then pull them out again, and so on. .
The task of a beekeeper is simply to build a suitable house for the bees that meets all the needs of the bee colony, in other words, the “right” house. The bees will do the rest themselves - they will adjust the ventilation, and draw the honeycombs in the way that is convenient for them, and they will cope with dampness and diseases themselves.

The beekeeper can only monitor the integrity of the bee house (so that it is not hollowed out by a woodpecker, destroyed by a bear, marten, or a person :)) and look inside twice a year. In the spring - to assess the condition of the bee colony after wintering, and in the fall - to understand how the bees worked over the summer and perhaps take some honey.

In this article I will tell you about my personal experience in log beekeeping, I will show you what logs we made, how the bees lived in them and what came of it all. We will also compare two types of decks, their design, installation methods and draw conclusions which one is better.

All my words in this article are confirmed by many years of personal practical experience. I am NOT claiming that this method of keeping bees is the only correct one, but simply expressing my opinion, and it is up to you to decide whether it is suitable for you or not. Well, let's get started?

Peculiarities

A beet is a specially formed cavity inside a tree, which is used for the purpose of further breeding bees. There can be from 1 to 3 such “dwellings” on one trunk. At the same time, beating does not in any way affect the health of the tree.

The construction of sides is carried out on coniferous and deciduous trees, such as oak or ash. Their service life is usually 300 years. Today, the side trees, where wild forest bees still live, have been preserved only in the reserve of Bashkiria. Today, a bee board can be created in one day. For this, masters use modern tools and auxiliary items that were used by our ancestors (lange, kiram).

In ancient times, the construction process could last several days, and beekeeping itself had a slightly “poaching” character. For example, previously, with the arrival of autumn, honey was collected from beetroot. As a result, the bees were left without supplies, which led to their death. In the spring, beekeepers were busy preparing the beekeepers for the next move-in. When they destroyed the nests of bees in a certain area, they left it and went in search of another.

This system continued until the nineteenth century. Its advantage lies in the fact that the honeycombs were renewed annually, and tree hollows were less susceptible to rotting. As for the bees, they got sick less often, their size did not decrease, and there was no inbreeding. Gradually, beet growers began to understand that it was better not to destroy bees’ nests, but to take only one part of the honey and leave the other for the bees for the winter. Thus, modern beekeeping was born.

Onboard honey

Wild bees produce a truly unique and valuable product, which is successfully used by humanity in alternative medicine. Thanks to its special properties, it is possible to overcome various diseases. This honey also perfectly strengthens the body’s protective functions.

Borbor honey has a tart taste and a dark brown hue. Its consistency is quite thick and its aroma is fragrant. It contains many vitamins and valuable microelements. Wild honey contains:

fructose;
glucose;
sucrose;
water;
vitamins E, C, B;
iodine;
calcium;
phosphorus;
aluminum, etc.

When should I cut the grass for the first time after planting my lawn?

The presence of so many beneficial substances makes this honey a quite nutritious product. In addition, it is perfectly absorbed by the body and also helps improve digestive processes. This beekeeping product has anti-inflammatory properties. This honey is also valued for its bactericidal effect, effectively destroying pathogens. These qualities are especially important when treating flu and colds.

Also today, pneumonia, bronchitis and even coronary heart disease are successfully treated with its help. However, such a quantity of valuable substances requires proper storage. Such honey must be stored in natural materials - in cedar barrels or clay pots.

What are the qualities of on-board honey?

Honey produced by forest bees living in a tree hive is healthier and purer. The entire process of printing honeycombs is carried out by human hands, without the use of mechanical machines. Due to the fact that the nectar does not pass through mechanical pumping, all beneficial properties and enzymes are preserved. Thus, vital substances do not disappear from royal jelly, wax and propolis. The price of wild bee honey is significantly higher than that obtained from a regular hive.

Structural types of hive decks

Modern decks can be divided into 3 large groups:

reclining loungers;
vertical decks;
collapsible multi-storey structures.

The most similar thing to a side, as you probably yourself have noticed, is a vertical cylindrical structure . It is a large log with a diameter of at least 0.5 m and a height of about 1.5-2 m. The middle of such a log is cleaned out, leaving only walls about 5 cm thick. The upper and lower ends are closed with wooden lids.

Expert opinion Ponomarev Sergey Stepanovich A beekeeper with 30 years of experience, Candidate of Technical Sciences Inclined beds can be made from either solid logs or thick boards. The lounger is placed at an angle of 20-30 degrees on a special stand.