Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

There are many designs of bee houses. But the most popular are horned hives. They are easy to build yourself. This type of design is considered budgetary. When making your own wooden beehive with stag beetles, you will need to stock up on material and delve into the intricacies of assembly. What we will talk about below.

design Features

The horned hive is a multi-housing house for keeping bee colonies. This type is made in the form of a vertically standing block, consisting of several departments. Horns are special projections that simplify the fixation and installation of the departments.

The horned hive was created for nomadic apiaries. The structure is easy to disassemble. Therefore, it is used by those beekeepers who extract honey on an industrial scale.

Advantages

Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

Stag beehives are a compact design. A house made of wood of this type consists of:

  • replaceable blocks that can be easily removed and swapped;
  • not a lot of details;
  • frames can be made from wood scraps.

In fact, this is a budget option. Removable blocks of wooden bee houses can be removed, interchanged and transported over long distances.

Equipment

The horned hive is harvested from:

  • body blocks;
  • deaf or mesh bottoms;
  • ceiling frame.

In the bottom of the bee house they make a notch. The hole is additionally equipped with a latch. The latch allows, if necessary, to close the tap hole of the hulls.

Assembly Features

Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

The peculiarity of horned hives is as follows:

  • everyone can make a bee house, even a person without experience in carpentry;
  • its cost is lower than buying a ready-made hive;
  • simplicity and convenience in operation.

The boards are cut on a sawmill. Thanks to this, the wood does not need to be further processed. But before wintering, the hives will need to be covered with foam.

Horned beehive for 10 frames

Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

Each person can make a bee house for 10 frames. The design is a rectangle. Bars are installed at the joints of the section. They are positioned so that they protrude 2 cm above the blocks.

To make a horned beehive with your own hands you will need:

  • bottom, blind and mesh;
  • cases for 8-10 frames;
  • frame replacing the ceiling. It is laid on top of the entire structure.

Important:

The mesh bottom is best placed in a large hive. In private apiaries, bee houses are equipped with an ordinary dead bottom.

In areas with severe frost, each part of the housing walls should be additionally insulated with foam. In addition, the upper frame structure can be covered with a sheet of iron. And pull the film under the bottom.

Material and assembly requirements

Horned hives are preferable to be made of wood:

Boards dry well. Impregnated wood material is dangerous for bee colonies. To reduce the cost of the stag hive, they use lining. For good ventilation, a metal mesh bottom is mounted. Stag bees develop well and increase their family.

Step by step guide

Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

The horned hive is assembled sequentially:

  • first, they are engaged in the assembly of the case;
  • then, the bottom;
  • then the cover is installed – the frame.

In addition to the material, tools will be required: a screwdriver, a hammer and self-tapping screws.

dimensions

Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

The structure consists of:

  • housing. The body is the main part to which the other elements of the horned hive are fixed. The recommended height of the stands is 153 mm high;
  • sidewalls. The optimum width is 535 mm. Be sure to add 16 mm distance to the walls and 40 mm. is laid on the outer protrusions;
  • front and back wall 400 mm. wide. The gap is laid 5 mm;
  • folds on the front and rear walls with a width of 8 mm;
  • bottom;
  • the second mesh bottom, where all the debris falls;
  • frame that acts as a ceiling. The installed frame is 145 mm. There is also a lid and a liner;
  • horns length 150 mm. The protrusions are made so that they protrude 15 mm at the top.

When assembling, it is important to ensure a flat work surface. This will eliminate the propeller.

Horned Hive Blueprints

Horned Hive Blueprints

Stag beehive 145 mm. is a section for several bodies, created without folds. Material costs are small. And the product turns out to be convenient and mobile. On average, the weight of a bee house does not exceed 16 kg.

Assembling the horned beehive according to the drawings, frames are set inside each. Any number of frames can be placed in such sections.

Tip:

But if we talk about a traditional house, it is recommended to install no more than 8 frames with a thickness of 22 mm.

They also provide two types of bottom:

  • solid bottom for garbage collection. In addition, bends can be formed from a solid bottom;
  • mesh bottom for cleaning the hive. This design will avoid the accumulation of waste, as well as ensure the flow of air into the bee house.

For horned hives, frames of 145 mm are more suitable. It is convenient for them to adjust the height of the bee house. The cross-section of the bars is made with dimensions of 22 by 27 mm. So that the parts are securely fixed to each other.

Keeping bees in a horned hive

Horned Hive: design and use in the apiary

The content of bee colonies in such structures is not much different from other types of wooden houses. But there are also certain points. When working with horned hives, the beekeeper does not work with honeycomb frames, but with sections. Therefore, initially a lot of them are installed. And while taking the main bribe, the beekeeper needs to constantly monitor the fullness of the sections.

When keeping insects in horned hives. Pay attention to the bottom. And clean it regularly. In hot weather, the closed bottom is replaced with a mesh bottom to ensure the flow of air into the bee house. In addition, the mesh bottom helps get rid of mites and prevents wax moths.

And with the approach of cold weather, the mesh bottom is changed deaf. This will keep the insects at a comfortable temperature. With the onset of spring, the bottom is replaced again and the colonies are checked. You can identify the brood by placing your palm against the frame. If heat emanates from it, then insects are multiplying.

And in conclusion, we note that in order to assemble a stag hive, you need to prepare material, tools and have a desire.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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