The natural replenishment of the apiary is due to swarms. However, it is undesirable to allow a swarm state, since it leads to the fragmentation of full-fledged families. Of course, there are positive aspects to swarming. But at the same time, do not forget that this process leads to a reduction in the bribe – neither the swarm, nor the family from which he came out, will not give as much honey as would have produced a family that was not divided.
Therefore, let’s talk about how to increase the apiary for a novice beekeeper without resorting to the swarm instinct of these honey insects.
The content of the article
- 1 Division into nuclei and layers
- 2 Getting a new family from two old ones
- 3 Increase of families due to brood
- 4 Using Packages
- 4.1 How to transplant batch bees
- 4.2 How to keep packet bees
Division into nuclei and layers
Small families are used to enlarge the apiary in the spring by dividing them into small (two-frame) cores, in each of which a new queen is placed. For this, nests are selected that can be removed from honey production this year without damage. For example, hives in which less than 6-7 streets are inhabited by insects.
To prevent the gathering of bees to the old place, the cores are taken outside the apiary, that is, they are removed from the direct summer of working insects. Such small families gain strength gradually, throughout the season. If possible, frames with young growth and brood can be substituted in them.
Unproductive families are allowed to be divided into two or three cores, rearranging honey extensions to other hives. You can keep the resulting core together with the new queen in a portable box. Later, matured families are transplanted into full-fledged hives.
In cases where double hulls are used, the hives can be split in two, provided both hives are full of brood.… A young “queen” is given to a family left without a queen.
If the division was carried out in early spring, it takes a long time before the mass flowering of honey plants – both families have time to strengthen, and give a good harvest of honey. Before the onset of the main summer bribe, such layers must be fed in a timely manner.
You can read about the best ways to form layers in a separate article: Layers, cores and spare queens for breeding an amateur apiary
Getting a new family from two old ones
This method of increasing the apiary is more painstaking than the previous one, but at the same time it is convenient and reliable.
The beekeeper should shake off most of the young insects from the nest into a pre-prepared hive with empty combs. The old uterus is not taken! After that, the hive is installed in the place where the original family lived. A new “queen” is launched into it.
In the original family, brood frames, an old uterus, and a part of young insects remain. It is installed in the place of one of the strongest families, moving the latter to any other point in the apiary.
As a result, both hives will be replenished with flying (working) bees, and one new one will be formed from two families.
Increase of families due to brood
The greatest strength of the bee colonies is gaining at the beginning of the main flow. At this time, the beekeeper has an excellent opportunity to select brood frames from strong nests without any damage to them.
The brood is used to reinforce new or weak nests. It is preferable to use frames with mature, i.e. completely sealed brood.
Instead of the removed frames, I install dry or artificial foundation in strong nests, which weakens the insects’ tendency to swarm. Bees begin to diligently build new combs and forget about the swarm instinct.
The removed brood is added to the cores and layering previously formed in the apiary. These colonies have about three months until the end of the season, during which the nests reach the strength of normal bee hives.
Using Packages
It is difficult to quickly increase the number of bee colonies in an apiary in a harsh wintering environment, since even ensuring the survival of insects in winter is an expensive undertaking. Therefore, in the Far North, the purchase of batch bees in the spring is more often used, and old insects are simply smoked after the end of the productive season.
This barbaric farming method is suitable for industrial beekeeping in extreme conditions. And for beekeepers of temperate and southern latitudes, packages are a completely humane way to quickly build up an apiary in the spring.
To determine the number of packages to order, it is necessary to calculate the winter losses and take into account the number of empty bee houses available in the fall. The order is carried out in late autumn or winter, which makes it possible to receive bees at the time most suitable for a particular area.
Ideally, this is a period of 8-12 weeks before the mass flowering of honey plants. Usually in nature there is already at least a weak supporting bribe – for example, fruit trees are blooming. This creates ideal conditions for transplanting packages and further work with them.
Important: If the beekeeper has a nomadic apiary, it is better to place all the packages next to the residential building, where the best possible care can be provided. This will allow the young hives to gain strength, after which they can be taken to the honey collection to the main apiary. At the same time, weak nests are combined or left in a stationary apiary, continuing to pay maximum attention to them.
How to transplant batch bees
For transplantation, a clean hive is prepared, in which five honeycomb frames are installed, arranging them near one of the walls – the rest of the house remains empty. A feeder with ready-made syrup is placed at the back of the hive – later it is transferred inside. The opening gap is reduced with a valve or covered with grass. If only the upper notch is used, the lower one is completely sealed! In the Dadant hives, the frames are covered with a canvas.
The insects in the bag are sprayed with warm water. Wet wings will not allow them to fly off during transplanting – the bees will stay in a new hive for several hours and will settle down well there.
After that, the package is placed on the edge of the hive, the lid is discarded, the feeder and the cage with the uterus are removed. The bees are then shaken back into the bag. The cage is placed in the hive, keeping the opening of the bag covered with the feeder.
In a uterus transplant, the paper covering the opening in the cage is removed and then placed on the upper bars of the frames. Alternatively, the cage is suspended between the combs or placed on the bottom so that the bees can lick the kandy and release their queen. Most often, they practice the installation of a transfer cage on the bottom, under the lower bars of three honeycomb frames.
Pushing aside the two outer frames, they shake out about half of the insects into the formed opening. The frames are gently shifted. The package is placed side by side on two blocks, with the opening upward.
Then the canvas is spread and the previously prepared syrup feeder is installed. If the feeder does not fit, an extension can be placed on top, and in a multi-body design, a full-fledged body. Then the house is closed with a lid.
Important: If the combs contain enough pollen and honey, one feeding is enough – about 3-4,5 liters of syrup. If there is a lack of feed, the syrup is dispensed regularly (at the rate of 1 kg of sugar per liter of water) or full-time frames are set.
How to keep packet bees
Packages allow you to quickly enlarge the apiary, provided that insects are placed on frames with large supplies of pollen and honey. Under favorable conditions, such families manage to fully develop before the mass flowering of honey plants begins, that is, a good collection of honey will be obtained already in the first season of keeping.
The critical post-transplant period lasts up to three weeks. The main problem is the death of old bees before the mass appearance of new individuals from the laid eggs. The imbalance in the family leads to a quiet replacement of the uterus.
Note: To avoid this problem, a frame with printed brood and bees should be installed in the batch colony two weeks after transplanting. Take them from a healthy strong nest. In a bag, it is placed next to the outermost honeycombs occupied by egg-laying.
It should be noted that the quiet replacement of the “queen” can be caused by various reasons.
Here are the main shortcomings in the care of the rapid increase in families in the apiary:
- frequent inspections of the nest by the beekeeper;
- lack of prevention of nosematosis – it is recommended to inject one of the drugs for diarrhea, for example, “Fumidil B” or another suitable medicine, into the syrup for feeding;
- poor breeding qualities – some queens noticeably lag behind in the quality and quantity of brood (the problem is solved by replanting a spare “queen” from the nucleus);
- lack of pollen – this component or its substitute should be added to the feed until a pollen inflow is discovered in nature.
With the increase in nests, honeycombs or frames with artificial foundation are added in a timely manner. At the same time, the entrance gaps expand – insects during this period need additional ventilation.
Information on the amount of foundation and feeding of the packages is provided here: Contents of the package bees
When the nest expands to a full body, it is possible to give an extension for collecting honey, regardless of the amount of the bribe. From this point on, packet bees are no different from other colonies in the apiary.
