Making houses for bees. Making hives with your own hands: dimensions, drawings. Manufacturing technology of polystyrene foam hives at home. What is a Langstroth-Root hive and how is it arranged

Work on the arrangement of the apiary begins with the selection of beehives for bees. The beekeeper has three options: buy ready-made, but it's expensive, buy previously used, but they can be infected and will not last long. Or you can make a hive with your own hands. Cheaper, more reliable, with a guarantee of a long service life. How to make, from what, by what technologies? Expert advice will help.

The beginning of any work precedes the study of the theoretical part. Before you start collecting, it is not enough to study the drawings and designs. It is important to get acquainted with the lifestyle of "honey" insects, the size of drones and queens, their mode of operation, and reproduction features. This is what determines the strict requirements for the construction of a bee house.

Briefly, they can be distinguished as follows:

Advice! It is more correct to paint ready hives in different bright colors. Bees navigate faster when looking for their home.

As for the requirements for the design of "rooms" for bee colonies, as a result of many years of practice, the optimal dimensions have been derived:

bar at the top - 24-25 mm;
passage width for movement - 12 mm;
axes should be at a distance of 37 mm;
it is recommended to retreat 7 mm from the rails on the sides and walls;
between the bottom and the bottom side of the frame - about 30-40 mm.

Types and manufacturing technologies

Consider the most popular constructive types hive for bees in the description and on the video.

"Dadanovsky" hive for bees. The house provides 12 frames. The arrangement is vertical, with the possibility of increasing the structure upwards. An additional box-case is simply attached from above. Its size, as a rule, is not more than half of the main one. The hive-lounger is distinguished by the horizontal arrangement of the frames and their number - up to 20 pieces. The width of the hive is also larger, and the depth is smaller.

If a large number of bees is expected, hives can be made using the Langstroth-Root method. There are up to 4 boxes of floors in such designs, each with 10 frames.

The easiest bee hive to make "horned". At the corners, the boxes-cases have protruding corners of the pins, hence the name. In each building there are thick, interconnected boards forming a frame. Size - 15.5 cm wide with a thickness of 2.2 cm. The sections are firmly fixed with bars. The structure can be disassembled to replace a damaged or broken part.

Attention! Compared to other designs, "horned" hives are the fastest to assemble and take up less space.

Materials, construction details

For the manufacture of bee hives, you can use plastic or foam, but you need to understand that under natural conditions, hardworking insects live in hollow trees. Of course, they will be more comfortable in wooden houses. The most suitable boards are from linden or coniferous trees. The tree must be of high quality, processed, without roughness and knots (2-3 per part is allowed).

The moisture content of the tree should be no more than 16%. To save money, you can also use plywood, but it is not so durable and quickly deforms under the influence of moisture.

Attention! To ensure thermal insulation, plywood parts must be covered from the inside with polystyrene foam.

To connect the parts, you will need waterproof wood glue, nails of different lengths. Roofing material can be used for the roof. For the final processing of wood, drying oil and paints are needed. Using the example of the Dadanovsky hive, we will analyze in detail what parts the house will consist of:

boxes-cases in the intended quantity;
10 frames;
shops - 2 pcs;
details of the bottom and ceiling;
element located under the cover;
insert board.

The exact dimensions, the joints of the parts are clearly visible in the drawings. Let's take a closer look at the main points that need to be considered during assembly. To make the case and the store, parts of the same size are harvested - 53 and 34 cm. The roof can be made with one or two slopes, but it is important to make it sloping. This will keep moisture from getting in during heavy rains. The roof is assembled from several parts: the main boards and the liner. It is a heater, drinkers or feeders for feeding the bees are also located there.

Parts are nailed to each other or screwed with self-tapping screws. Depending on the climate, the lining element-insulation will be different in thickness. In order to exclude excessive moisture in the beehive for bees, ventilation holes are drilled in the linings. When assembling the roof, you need to pay attention to the tightness of the boards - there should be no gaps. If necessary, use gaskets or overhead skirting boards. As for the assembly of the bottom. A simpler option involves the deaf. But, nevertheless, it is recommended to make a removable or retractable bottom. This makes it easier to clean the hive. In cold regions, the bottom should be made of a double board, with a layer of insulation.

A do-it-yourself bee house is a job that does not require complex tools and materials. Using ready-made drawings, you can make reliable ones that will last a long time.

How to make a beehive: video

Beekeeping - in itself and increasing productivity household plots. A purchased hive without frames is not so expensive: up to 4 thousand rubles. But they need a few. If you want to organize on the site or cottage on your own and with minimum expenses, then you can make hives yourself. Other, more expensive beekeeping equipment (,) can be rented or donated for honeycomb processing.

The hive is the dwelling of a bee family or several families. The amount of honey that you can collect from it is determined by many circumstances: the method of beekeeping, the density of honey plants around, the weather, the experience of the beekeeper. An important role is played by the design and order of manufacture of the hive.

has existed for thousands of years. But only two centuries have passed since the design of the hive was invented, which made it possible to truly "domesticate" bees. At the same time, the bee colony did not die and was not exhausted after collection. This (framework) was first proposed in 1814 by I.P. Prokopovich. A little later, he formulated the principle of building a house for a bee "superorganism": each bee colony should receive an amount of living space that corresponds to its strength. And the hive must be designed so that this space can be increased. In 1851 he proposed a hive with vertical frames. And this design still prevails in professional beekeeping.

For beginners, it is very important to choose the right proven type and accurately reproduce it, according to the drawings. There are not so many reliable designs that allow experienced beekeepers to collect 20 kg from one hive even in non-honey years. All these samples are presented below, with drawings and explanations. Making bee hives from video is also easy to learn.

The stand or bottom limits the design from above. It often has a sloping front wall on which the bees sit. Sometimes there is another "false" bottom between the hull and the bottom. It facilitates garbage collection and other maintenance.
The body is a box with no bottom. It contains frames, a permanent habitat for bee colonies. Sometimes vertical retractable partitions are arranged in the body. Sometimes several buildings are placed one above the other. If there are more than 3, then such a hive is called a multi-hull.
Shop - a box, slightly less height than the body. It does not have a notch and is located above the frames. The shop serves for selection of honey. Between it and the body there is a dividing grid, which is called a separator. The cells in the separator mesh should be of such a size that the worker bee can freely pass into them, and the queen could not leave the body and lay her eggs below, in filled combs. Shop with separator - distinguishing feature a hive designed for aggressive honey collection. Naturally, this technology is designed for honey years and strong bee colonies. If you just need to separate two families in one hive, then a blank board is used.
The liner is a section-box above all cases. Its function is to ensure the correct microclimate and air circulation in the hive. It can be with ventilation holes or deaf. Often a feeder is placed in the liner or a heater is laid.
The lid is, in fact, the roof of the hive, protecting it from precipitation. It is arranged pitched or flat. To make it easier to transport the hives, they are made flat. But single or double slopes are better ventilated.

Removable frames that slide into the body of the bee house are needed as a basis for building honeycombs. The combs themselves are for brood, nesting and single (intended for stocks). If the colony has too much space, the strength of the worker bees will be wasted on building unnecessary combs. Therefore, it is so important to correctly limit their living space. Frames for nesting cells are placed in the body, and frames for idler cells are placed in the store. So it will be possible to select honey without disturbing the bee colony.

Depending on the design of the frame, the hives are low-wide, square and narrow-high. The swarm "grows" vertically. Therefore, a narrow-high design more often than a low-wide one leads to the release of a nucleus (new swarm). And spending on it stocks of honey.

Most often, standard frames 435X230 mm in size (for a nest) or half-frames 435X145 mm in size (for a store) are used. Their empty opening is filled with galvanized wire with a diameter of 2 mm and wax sheets. These sheets with depressed bottoms will be the basis for the honeycombs under construction. The frames slide from top to bottom into the grooves and hang on hangers - extensions in the upper part.

The step with which the frames are located in the box is 37 - 38 mm. The very width of the frame (shoulders) is slightly smaller - 36-37 mm. The difference is needed so that the package of frames does not get stuck in the box due to thermal expansion and propolis gluing them together. This provides the so-called "bee space".

To successfully make a hive, you need to know that the structure of the frame, like the hive itself, depends significantly on the climate in which the apiary is located.

In sharply continental and mountainous areas, it is necessary to make frames 36 mm wide and their pitch is 38 mm,
In temperate continental areas - 36 mm wide and 37 mm pitch,
Terrain with minimal temperature differences (near the sea, in the steppe, etc.) - 37 mm, in increments of 37.5 mm.

There must also be a precisely set gap between the walls of the hive and the extreme frames. It is 9.5 mm. If you make it large, they will fill the space with honeycombs, and if it is smaller, then the extreme frame will be glued to the box with propolis. The distance between the bottom of the hive and the bottom of the frames should be 2 cm. The bees should move freely along the bottom, and air should flow from below. And even with this rule, bee colonies need regular care so that the frames do not stick to the bottom.

In order to make high-quality and identical frames for hives with their own hands, beekeepers use special patterns. Collect them on nails. Making frames with your own hands is justified. After all, even for a small apiary, they need hundreds.

Common types of hives

This is the oldest type of bee house with standard vertical type frames. Everything that has been said above, for the most part, applied to these vertical hives. In practice, in a "multi-storey" similar hive, 3-5 buildings are always used, 10 frames in each building. This simple design greatly facilitates apiary work. Both weak and strong families live in the hive. Strong provide sufficient honey flow.

Langstroth's wooden hive is best made from a flat and dry board up to 4 cm thick. Box dimensions - 462 mm x 400 mm x 240 mm. Each body is equipped with 2 identical diaphragms made of thin boards or plywood. In height, they should be the same as the frame, and in width - such that a bee cannot penetrate through them.

sun lounger

The figure shows the device of a simple wooden beehive-bed. This type (without a magazine, with an elongated frame) is called Ukrainian. It looks like a chest in appearance and is often made with a hinged lid. Such a hive arrangement is suitable for warm climates with a large number of flowering honey plants. It's kind of "lazy" beekeeping.

In the following figure, you can see the device of a more complex sunbed, with a store and for two families. A diaphragm is certainly located in it, bee colonies can develop upwards and it is easy to observe it.

The sunbed is a great design for wintering. In professional beekeeping, it is used to save weak families in the winter, and such a hive is easy to make with your own hands.

Charles Dadant in the century before last developed his own hive design for areas not too rich in honey plants. This type is not suitable for industrial scale honey production. But the hive itself and beekeeping are quite simple, and fully meet the needs of a small farm.

This hive with 12 high frames (height 300 mm) can provide overwintering for a pair of bee colonies. The uneven body and the store make up one hive module. Modules can be installed one on top of the other. The classic material for the manufacture of Dadan hives is moisture-resistant plywood or pine board.

Delon's Alpine hive

The inventor of this hive, Roger Delon, adapted this deck-like structure in order to exploit the enormous potential of alpine meadows. Flowering in the mountains is short-term, short-term and stormy, the distances between groups of honey plants are large. And the daily fluctuations in temperature are very large.

Delon decided that the design of the hive for mountain conditions should bring their life closer to the conditions of the existence of wild bees. To do this, he developed a low frame made of wire, on which the foundation is stretched without metal threads. The alpine hive itself consists of low (108 mm high) in terms of square buildings, which are compiled into high decks. You can arrange up to 12 boxes in one hive.

Beekeeping and caring for such a device is quite complicated. Labor costs for maintenance of mountain hives are 3 or 4 times higher than for the Dadan design. And it’s not so easy to make such a hive for a mountainous area with your own hands.

In addition to these main types, there are less common hives of Ozerov, Varre, Khomich, etc., each of which is “imprisoned” under certain conditions beekeeping.

Wood is a classic material for building beehives. Conifers are most suitable: spruce, fir, cedar, etc. From hardwoods - poplar, linden, aspen. All these types of wood are characterized by low thermal conductivity, which is very important for the hive. Boards should not have wormholes, cracks, knots. Plywood, especially moisture resistant, is an excellent material for a beehive. It is drier than wood in the product and has no worse thermal insulation properties if the walls are insulated with expanded polystyrene foam.

You can also make a hive from foam. It must be painted to protect it from external destructive factors. Recently, materials such as polycarbonate or. The so-called Finnish Styrofoam hive seems to beekeepers to be very simple to manufacture. It has negligible heat loss, it is lightweight and inexpensive. But it is unreasonable to fasten PPS with self-tapping screws, and it is impossible to mold it in non-factory conditions. It cannot be mechanically cleaned. And if you remove the stuck frame, you can damage the walls.

How to make a beehive with your own hands: step by step

Wooden or plywood: frame hive drawing

Take boards with an overlap of 1 cm on each side. They should all be perfectly dried, non-resinous, not less than a year seasoned.

According to one of the proposed drawings, it is easy to calculate the amount of materials and cut out all the blanks. Then:

To fasten the side walls, the edges are cut out on them using a circular saw. Also, the walls are fastened with self-tapping screws or nails. There should not be any gaps in the assembled product.
At the top and bottom, you need to choose folds that provide a tight assembly of the hives on the outside and a place to support the frames on the inside. If there is no milling machine, then you can cut the folds with a sherhebel - a folded planer.
The recommended depth of the inner fold is 17 mm and the height is 11 mm.
The bottom must be upholstered with galvanized metal. Fastening - on self-tapping screws. You can make it double-sided: make a frame out of three bars, and make a groove around the perimeter for a retractable bottom.
How to make frames, described above. The best raw material for them is spruce.
It is good to make a feeder for the hive. It is usually placed on a false bottom or wall. On the front wall of the case, a notch is required to be cut. Most often it is round in shape in diameter - 2.5 cm.
The roof should be heavy enough to close the hive tightly. You can also upholster it with galvanized metal.
All boxes must be fitted carefully. A galvanized anti-mite net should be provided.
In some hives, a heating device with a power of up to 10 watts is installed. It is advisable to attach carrying handles to the side walls.

On the Internet there are a lot of videos with videos on making hives with your own hands. With the help of them and the given drawings of multi-hull and frame hives, this work will be simple.

Making hives for your bees is a lot of fun! But in order for the bees to appreciate your work, it must be done according to certain rules and from materials suitable for this. We figure out together how to make a warm, dry, and bee-friendly hive.

Every self-respecting beekeeper should know how to make a bee hive with their own hands. After all, there will come a time when you want to build a house for your “wards” yourself.

There are quite a lot of varieties of beehives: sunbed, double-hull, with a semi-frame store, Dadanovsky, multi-hull, Altai and others. Each of them will have its own disadvantages and advantages. The beekeeper decides on his own: which one to give preference to and which one to make on his own.

The classic version of the hive, known to every beekeeper, is a 20-frame body with two compartments, a magazine and a lid. In appearance, this design looks like an oblong-shaped box, with a large and thick bottom, a thickened roof.

Before starting work on making a future beehive for bees with your own hands, you should familiarize yourself with constituent parts design and know: what and what is intended.

Almost every version of hives (many for sure) contains the following elements:

Frame. It is a kind of box, consisting of the walls of the hive. Case dimensions may vary and depend on the specific model. There are also configurations with a large number of cases that are stacked on top of each other. An obligatory attribute of any building is a taphole or several tapholes.
Shop extension. It is not a mandatory part, but it is present in many hives. Looks like a shortened body model. The main goal is to preserve honey during the period of its harvest, as well as to provide honey for a weak family that is not able to harvest a lot.
Roof lining. It is located between the roof and the upper case with frames. It has the same purpose as the store. Serves to create better conditions life for bees, as well as for installing a feeder and warming the house for the winter.
Bottom. It may or may not be removable. Each configuration has its own positive sides. So, if the removable one allows you to take care of the bees more quickly and efficiently, then the second option creates an additional area for insects, a kind of landing area.
Ceiling. It is a plank that covers the nest at the top of the hive. In some models of hives, a canvas is used instead of a ceiling.
Hive roof. The main purpose is protection from precipitation and natural phenomena that adversely affect the life of the nest. It can be absolutely anything: gentle, flat, two- and single-sided. Flat roof convenient for transportation.
Framework. Can be nested and sectional. So, the former serve to create honeycombs by bees, and the latter - to harvest honey in combs.
feeder. It is used for organizing feeding or, if necessary, treating bees.
Insert board. Serves to narrow the free space. It is regulated taking into account what powers a certain family has.

All hives can be divided into several types:

square (the size of the frames in width and height is the same);
low-wide (length slightly exceeds width);
narrow-altitude (the height is much greater than the width).

The most common materials for creating beehives

Classic hives are wooden structures that beekeepers made with their own hands back in the days of the birth of beekeeping and the domestication of bees. This option brings insects as close as possible to their real and natural habitat conditions.

But progress does not stand still today to the question: “How and from what to make a hive with your own hands?” - there are many answers. Fortunately, craftsmen have come up with a lot of various schemes and drawings, and modern building supermarkets offer a lot of ideas for using materials.

Tree. This material is rightfully recognized as the most ancient. Not so long ago, almost everything that could be built and made was made of wood. The best option there will be a hardwood tree - linden, aspen. The smell of this wood is very pleasant and the honey will not get specific features. In addition, moisture will not collect in the hive in summer. The disadvantage is that in winter you need to warm well.

Recently, coniferous wood has been used to create beehives - pine, spruce, fir. This is a budget option if you refer to the tree as building material for the hive. In addition, it has good heat saving performance, which guarantees a good wintering with little warming. Among the shortcomings, there is an accumulation of moisture inside the hive and the acquisition of a specific coniferous smell by honey, especially in new buildings.

Plywood. Material characterized by durability and environmental friendliness. If the outer part of the structure is covered with an acrylic coloring composition and the house is insulated with polystyrene foam, then the properties of the material will be many times superior to wood.

In such a hive, the bees will be dry and comfortable, in case of choosing high-quality material and proper operation. Plywood is afraid of moisture and requires constant care.

Styrofoam .One of modern materials used in the manufacture of beehives. It compares favorably with the rest by its low cost and the absence of the need for additional insulation of the structure for the cold season.

The disadvantages are recognized: fragility and fragility of the structure (compared to plywood and wood). If the material is of dubious quality, the quality of honey may deteriorate.

Styrofoam. It would seem, for what you can use the remains of packaging from a large household appliances. Not every experienced beekeeper comes up with such a thing. custom solution how to use when building a beehive with your own hands. This is the most budget option you can think of. The advantages include very light weight (even with filled frames, it will not exceed 14 kg), good thermal insulation properties.

The disadvantages clearly include fragility, as well as the need for mandatory painting in order to protect against exposure to ultraviolet radiation harmful to the foam.

Polyurethane- material used in the insulation of facades. It has good thermal conductivity properties, does not pass or accumulate moisture, is not subject to decay and decomposition, and is also not a medium for the development of fungus and bacteria. The good news is that bees, mice, and birds do not like to gnaw holes in such structures. Among the shortcomings, flammability is noted, which also applies to wooden structures. If you want to make a hive from polyurethane, be sure to consider ventilation, since the material itself does not allow air to pass through.

Before you start making a hive with your own hands, carefully study the characteristics of each material. We offer you two options. Budget foam and classic wood.

What should be the hive?

Of course, warm, dry and comfortable for insects! And this is regardless of what material you use.

Proper ventilation is important in making hives with your own hands. If this is not done, then the bees may die due to inadequate living conditions or leave their place of residence in search of a new, more convenient and comfortable one.

It is very good if during the construction you think over a design that will allow you to modify the hives and increase or decrease them as needed.

When creating a preliminary drawing on paper, the following factors should be considered:

The dimensions of the hive will depend on the required number of frames inside and their size.
The width is defined as the product of the number of frames and the number of 37.5 cm.
When calculating the length, the same parameter is taken into account (the distance between the two side strips). So, most often the length will be equal to the sum of the length of the frame and another 14 mm.
In height, your hive should be equal to the number, which will include the sum of the height of the folds and the frames to be installed.

Do-it-yourself production of a foam hive

Using foam in the manufacture of bee housing is the cheapest option.

The following facts can be safely attributed to the advantages:

Complete lack of conduction of heat. In the cold it will be warm here, and in the heat it will be cool and cozy.
Resistant to rotting and warping.
Ease of operation and maintenance. Repair is carried out by replacing the part with a new one. If necessary, the design can be quickly modified, built on or removed.
Light weight. The average weight of a foam house is about a kilogram. A suitable option for nomadic beekeepers.
Moisture and condensate is not absorbed and does not remain on the walls, it flows down.
The bees are more productive during the honey harvest period and consume less food in the winter.

The significant disadvantages of this version of the hive include the fear of direct sun rays and the need to weight the structure to avoid tipping over. Particular attention should be paid to the correct ventilation, otherwise the bees may die in winter or escape in summer.

For manufacturing you will need:

foam sheets;
sandpaper of small grain size;
self-tapping screws (5 cm);
water-based paint;
glue or nails (liquid) for gluing parts;
ruler;
paint roller;
screwdriver or screwdriver;
circular saw and utility knife.

Step-by-step instruction

How to make a beehive with your own hands step by step:

It is better to buy polystyrene in construction stores. There are several configurations: 20, 30 mm and 50 mm.
Draw the necessary design on sheets of paper and only then transfer it to the foam using a felt-tip pen and a ruler.
To cut out component parts, use circular saw, a hacksaw for metal or a clerical knife.
Clean up the edges with sandpaper.
The sides of the future walls must be fastened by overlapping (cut quarters at the joints and drive tightly into each other), fixing the elements with liquid nails.
To consolidate the result, it is better to walk along the perimeter with self-tapping screws (no more than one per 10-15 cm).
If the case is multi-level, then the levels should be tightly fitted on top of each other.

In the manufacture of the bottom, it is better to use galvanized sheet, in which the necessary ventilation holes are made in advance. It is better if the pallet is removable. The bottom is attached to the body with self-tapping screws.

For the manufacture of the roof, you can use the same foam, but since the structure is light, do not forget about weighting.

Classic variant

To make a beehive for bees with your own hands from traditional wood, you should acquire a set of carpentry tools, as well as boards with a moisture content ranging from 15-16%.

The number of boards will be different for each, since the cases can be made different. It is best to borrow a hive drawing from those who have previously created such structures and are actively using them.

Be sure to adhere to the basic parameters of the main elements - this will simplify operation.

In such a hive, the following elements must be present: insert boards (2 pcs.), Canvas or ceiling boards, burlap insulation.

An approximate design and basic measurements are indicated in the following drawing of beehives for bees:

Multi-hull bessaltsevy hive

This hive has fully justified itself during its existence (about one and a half hundred years). Its design over the years has not undergone significant changes, but the manufacture has been greatly simplified.
A multi-hull hive is a construction of several identical housings, a removable (sometimes not) bottom, cover, ceiling, magazine extensions and, of course, a dividing grid. If desired, the overall design can be somewhat modified and supplemented.

The picture above shows a case that looks like a box with the following internal dimensions: W = 37.5 cm, L = 45 cm, H = 24 cm. About 10 standard frames (43.5 by 23 cm) can easily fit into this design.

From such cases, the following design is created:

In our climatic latitudes, the width of the case is 37.5, and not 37 cm, as is customary in warmer countries with a dry climate. Under the influence of high humidity, the frames swell and change somewhat. In this case, it simply becomes difficult to get them out of the case. Also, during operation, propolis is layered, which also leads to problems when removing frames. Some beekeepers even increase the body to 38 cm in order to further ease of operation.

To create one such body with your own hands in the overall design, you need to take boards that should be at least 3-5 mm larger than the required dimensions of the future parts of the hive. It is necessary to take into account the margin that will be needed during processing. There should be a material overlap of 1 cm on the trimming in each direction. All boards are well dried before use, must be non-resinous, and also aged for at least a year.

On two walls (front and back), at the upper edge, folds should be made for inserting frames measuring 11 by 17 mm. The depth of 17 mm allows you to fit frames into the case so that another case can be placed on top.

At a distance of 7 cm from the upper edge, holes should be made in the central part of the outer side for ease of holding and carrying the structure.

Next, you need to make an additional notch, which will serve as a source of additional ventilation for the hive. It is drilled on the front wall under the sink. It is usually round in shape with a diameter of about 2.5 cm.

Between each other, each such body is connected tightly end-to-end, without the use of folds. This design is considered more convenient to use and easy to manufacture.

During the operation of a multi-tiered hive with a folded structure, when moving and removing the housings, disturbed bees run into lower part and are often hammered into seam recesses.
When the body is put back in place, the bees left in the folds will be crushed. Very often there is also a uterus. This is an absolute minus of such a design. That is why, almost all over the world, beekeepers have abandoned them in favor of a beehive without folds.

Production of extensions of a multi-hull hive

A honey extension, or otherwise a store, is a design that allows you to acquire full-weight honeycombs at the end of the season, and also does not allow the uterus to work in this design.

The standard frame dimensions for this extension are 43.5 x 14.5 cm.
This part of the common hive is made in the same way as the body. It differs only in a lower height due to the fact that half-frames are used. Making a frame in this extension is not difficult. Most often, the standard sample is divided in half.

Some beekeepers make a viewing window in the extension for convenience.
A beekeeper's arsenal should have several stores.

Roof manufacturing

The thickness of the boards for the roof is standard - 2 cm. From the boards of this size, the necessary design of the shield is assembled, after which, to prevent decay, the outer part is covered with a sheet of tin.
Some beekeepers prefer to mount such a mesh structure in the roof:

This is done so that additional ventilation is created for them during the transportation of bees. Also, such a design will be convenient, if necessary, to isolate their families for some time from the outside world and flights for nectar.

The bottom of the hive

The bottom is best done removable and double-sided. To do this, you need to take three bars with dimensions: 57x6.5x3.5 cm - those that will be on the sides, and 44.5x6.5x3.5 - the one that will be installed in the back. In each bar, at a distance of 2 cm from the upper edge, it is necessary to make a groove 3.5 cm wide and 1 cm deep. The bars are assembled into a single structure in the form of the letter "P". The grooves are made for installing the floor.

The general design of the bottom provides for a more protruding front part (5 cm), forming a landing board.
There is also a design of a dividing bottom, which is used in the case of a two-queen keeping of bees in a single hive.

Ceiling

Represents a continuous wooden structure dimensions 52 by 44 cm. Consists of a shield and a rim. The rim is made of wooden slats 3.5 cm wide and 1.5 cm thick. The shield is made of boards 1 cm thick and with a total size of 47 by 39.5 cm. A hole should be made in the middle part to create better ventilation of the nest or installation feeders during feeding.

The ceiling has two different sides: smooth and one that has a rim protruding by 0.5 cm. On the body, the installation is carried out by a part without a rim, while on the protruding side, some space is formed that allows insects to move freely.
If such a design is used as a delimiter between families, then the hole is upholstered with a fine mesh or a wooden insert is installed in it.

Stand

It looks like a box and matches in size with the outer parameters of the bottom. The side faces are made at an inclination of 45 degrees and together with the bottom form a good arrival board. The same sides should have recesses measuring 2.5 by 9 cm in the middle part. Their main purpose is the ability to raise the hive above the stand or conveniently insert the crepe for further transportation. Also through these holes there is additional ventilation. To increase the life of the structure, coat it with bitumen dissolved in gasoline. Toxic fumes will quickly evaporate, and the bitumen itself will densely impregnate the boards, which will increase resistance to moisture.

Dividing grid

A design such as a dividing grid can also be done independently. Its main purpose is to isolate the queen for some time from the main nest, as well as to separate the brood and honey enclosures. Its dimensions must match the internal dimensions of the case. It is installed on bars. To create it, it is better to use a wire structure.

Framework

You can also not buy frames, but do it yourself. So, standard sizes frames in the hive construction described above look like this:

The side bar of the upper part, increased to 3.7 cm, allows you to firmly fix the frames inside the hive and prevent them from moving. The bottom bars are exactly the same size as the side bars.

I hope this instruction will save you from the question of how to make a beehive with your own hands step by step, thank you for your attention! Please share this information.

Beekeeping is not an easy task, but it is beneficial not only because of its high profitability. Entomologists and agrarians are unanimous: in general, the benefits of the honey bee Apis melifera are not only honey and wax, which is highly demanded in technology, but even more - pollination fruit plants. Apiary in the country, personal plot, in the garden and next to the garden, it is definitely worth all the trouble and expense, if not directly, by the output of marketable beekeeping products, then by increasing the productivity of the economy as a whole.

A ready-made hive in the Russian Federation can be bought for 2000-4000 rubles, but without frames. One hive in the apiary will not do. The most expensive equipment for private beekeeping - a honey extractor and a wax melter - can at first be rented or given away for processing. Other bee care supplies are more readily available. That is, at the beginning of the beekeeping activity, it makes complete sense to make the hives yourself: they are not material-intensive, they are not structurally and technologically complex. This publication is devoted to how to make a beehive with your own hands. The material is designed primarily for beginners.

Do or create?

Hive not to eat technological equipment in the normal view. It is primarily the home of the bee colony (families). Honey collection is determined by many factors: the experience of the beekeeper, the method of beekeeping, the amount, species composition and the density of honey plants in a given place, the location of the apiary on it, and finally, just the weather. But honey collection from the hive depends on right choice its type and workmanship are much more than the milk yield per cow from the design of her stall.

A bee family is not a family in the usual sense, nor is it a colony of individuals or a nest. Since the middle of the last century, some zoologists for short description communities of social insects (termites, ants, social wasps and bees) use the term "superorganism", implying that "superorganism" is the subject of a population of a given species, an individual in it is its structural unit, like a cell in our body, has strictly defined functions , one cannot exist on its own, and within the “superorganism” community, a complex exchange of information is continuously going on.

“Superorganism” in the full sense of the word is another life at our side, and, as the 1969 Animal Life aptly remarked, this word has no more to do with displaying the true essence of the differences between them and us than a puff of smoke has to do with the Club of Famous captains. An internal combustion engine piston is closer to an old soft boot, and its cooling jacket is closer to a piece of clothing than a bee colony is closer to our family, and its fertile female is closer to a mother or queen.

Therefore, at the beginning of beekeeping, you need to make a beehive for bees, firstly, exactly following the chosen pattern. Beekeeping has been around for millennia, but the first frame hive that made it possible to fully domesticate the honey bee was developed only 200 years ago, it is so difficult for us to understand their life. Secondly, at the start, choose a sample for repetition that is proven, convenient not only for the life of bees, but also for the development of your understanding of it. Chasing immediately only for the maximum honey yield means dooming yourself to failure in advance. You cannot become a beekeeper based only on book knowledge, and you need to make beehives for your apiary in such a way as to back them up with observations and practical experience as best and as quickly as possible.

Hive of Dadan

In an area more or less provided with flowering honey plants, the Dadanovsky hive gives a honey flow comparable to that of the Langstroth-Ruth hive, and caring for it and beekeeping in the Dadan hive is not much more complicated than in the lounger hive. The Dadan-Blatt hive for 12 frames 300 mm high (Dadan frame, see below for frames) provides wintering for 2 bee colonies in a temperate continental climate, and at the same time can be made under the standard Ruth frame. A Dadan-Blatt hive fully filled with honey weighs up to 35 kg, which allows you to manage it alone.

In the Dadan hive, the housing and magazine of different heights make up the hive module. Multi-hull hives are obtained by stacking modules one on top of the other. This hive is now known in several varieties adapted to local conditions. In Russia, their own modifications of the Dadan hive have been developed, but in view of the ongoing climate changes, the Dadan hive in the variant common in the northwestern states of the USA and Canada, designed for 9 Ruth frames, may be of interest; see its drawings in fig. below. The climate there is much wetter and more unstable than in middle lane RF. But it’s probably too early for us to supply the hive with a comb liner with inserts; then the Section Comb Super turns into a simple box, and the Inner Cover and Outer Telescoping Cover become the usual cover and roof, respectively. The structural material of this hive is a 16 mm thick hemlock board, which can be replaced with moisture-resistant plywood.

hive frames

Removable frames in a hive for bees are a kind of foundation on which they build a house - honeycombs. From the point of view of bees, combs are divided into nesting, for brood, and idle for stocks. In the cells filled with honey, the first queen lays her eggs, the worker bees seal them, and the larvae develop by swimming in the food. In idle combs, food is stored for the whole family for the winter and bad weather.

Note: although honey bees form a “superorganism”, they are not endowed with reason and act instinctively. Therefore, in the hive, with an excess of space, it is possible to build empty honeycombs. Their appearance is highly undesirable, because. the strength of the family is wasted both for her and for the beekeeper.

From the point of view of the beekeeper, nesting and idle combs should be separated, highlighting separate frames for both. In this case, you can take honey and wax without destroying or even disturbing the bee colony. Therefore, structurally, the frames for hives are divided into nested, placed in the body, and store.

Most hives are designed for low-wide frames, which are wider than tall. Bee colonies tend to develop vertically, so a low-wide frame reduces the likelihood of swarming when there is a large excess of food. Enthusiasts of a narrow-high framework inevitably face a decrease in the honey flow as a whole, because when the germ of a new swarm - the nucleus - is released from the bee colony, the accumulated reserves are spent on it.

The standard dimensions of the nesting frame of the hive since the time of Ruth are 435x230 mm, and the magazine, or half-frame, 435x145 mm. The nesting frame of Dadan differs only in its height increased to 300 mm, see the dimensions and drawings of the frames for the hives in fig. A 2-mm galvanized wire is stretched in the opening of the frame (inset at the top right in the figure) and foundation is laid in it, this is a kind of trench for the foundation. Bees will build honeycombs without foundation, but honey collection from the hive will then begin later. The frame in the case/magazine hangs on hangers resting on the inner fold of the box, see below.

The width of the upper shelf of the frame is 36 or 37 mm, but the hive body / magazine is calculated for the frame installation step of 37.5-38 mm. The fact is that a too dense package of frames from thermal expansion can jam in the box, and beekeepers already have a lot of trouble with frames glued to it with propolis. Therefore, based on the local climate, the width of the frame shelf and their calculated step are chosen as follows:

The climate is even: sea, steppe or others with slight temperature fluctuations - a shelf of 37 mm, a step of 37.5 mm.
The climate is temperate continental, eg. Central Russia - shelf 37 mm, pitch 38 mm or shelf 36 mm, pitch 37 mm.
The climate is continental or if the apiary is in the mountains - a shelf of 36 mm, a step of 38 mm.

The gap between the sidewalls of the frame and the walls of the hive has been precisely verified by beekeepers over the centuries: 8 mm. More - the bees will build it with honeycombs; less - it will be tightened with poppolis and the frame will stick. Ways to remove sticky frames are known, but why deal with problems if you can not create them?

The gap between the lower bar of the frame and the bottom of the hive is made larger, 20 mm. Less is impossible, if you deprive the bees of the opportunity to walk along the bottom or limit it, the family will wither away. But then regular care of the hive is necessary: to tear off the frames that have stuck to its bottom without ruining the family is still the same task.

Assemble frames on nails using a special pattern board, see sidebar in fig; for frame wood, see below. The excavation of combs and the care of the apiary are greatly facilitated by folding basket frames, see the figure on the right, but considering that hundreds of frames are required even for a small apiary, the labor and money costs for the purchase of stainless wire in this case are not always justified.

Note: in some types of hives, non-standard frames are used. These will be described below along with resp. hive types.

sun lounger

The hive-lounger is something like a chest with frames suspended in it, even its lid is often made hinged. The beehive-lounger is also called the Ukrainian beehive, which is not true. It was invented independently by amateur beekeepers from several countries of Southern Europe. The hive-lounger came to Ukraine already in finished form, and there, frankly speaking, it was spoiled: they deprived the store and adapted it to narrow-high frames of Dadan size, see fig. In fairness, it should be noted that from the point of view of “lazy” beekeeping in regions with a favorable climate for bees and an abundance of lushly flowering honey plants, this made some sense.

The device and dimensions of the hive-lounger for 16 frames (one or two family) and 20 frames (2 family) are shown on the next. rice. In it, the bee colony is even more encouraged to develop horizontally, and the observation of the bees is facilitated. An indispensable accessory of such a hive is at least 1 diaphragm.

IN in general terms the mode of operation of the 16-20 frame lounger is as follows:

During the spring "explosive" peak of flowering honey plants (garden, buckwheat field, linden forest, acacia grove), 2 families work, the main (main) and auxiliary. The movement of bees from family to family does not particularly reduce the honey flow, they are not up to it, a lot of work.
At the decline of flowering, the auxiliary colony either separates and moves away (relocates), or is destroyed, or harasses itself: its worker bees kill their queen and move on to the main colony. The excess space of the hive is fenced off by the diaphragm.
If the summer flowering of wild honey plants is not particularly intense, the hive works in 1-family mode until wintering.
In the case of violent summer flowering in the main family, a nucleus is formed, which develops into a new auxiliary family.

Thus, at the cost of some reduction in honey yield, the bed hive is largely self-regulating and self-adjusting for the honey/non-honey year. Therefore, even rather significant flaws in beekeeping in it do not excessively reduce the honey flow and almost never ruin the family.

Note: if you read or hear the expression “double queen bee colony”, “two queen hive”, etc., do not believe your eyes and ears. Any student of the Faculty of Biology, not to mention entomologists, will explain that there are no “double queen” bee colonies and, in principle, cannot exist. By analogy with individual organisms, again forcedly rough and inaccurate, 2 bee colonies in one hive is not a two-headed bird in a cage, but simply 2 birds in one cage. Which may or may not get along there.

The bed hive also has a property that is valuable for professionals: since the expansion of bee colonies is directed mainly vertically, one bed hive is suitable for wintering 2 or more colonies, which allows saving weak colonies. It makes no sense to nurse them in a large hive, it will be necessary to give abundant feeding. But an overfed family in the spring will not be able to restore vitality and will wither away. Imagine that someone spent the whole winter lying in bed on diet food, and in the spring it was launched into a logging site or an obstacle course. In a small volume and with neighbors, the bee colony experiences weakness, like a soldier in a trench with a runny nose. Appearance and a diagram of the arrangement of a wintering hive-lounger for 4 families is given in fig.

Alpines

Roger Delon decided to create a hive that would allow bees to fully use the incredible honey potential of alpine meadows, but this task is extremely difficult. Alpine honey plants bloom in groups of species throughout the season; volley bloom, its peaks are high, sharp and short-lived. Blooming clumps are located on islands, often distant from each other at considerable distances. The daily fluctuations in temperature in the Alpine altitudinal zone are also extreme: in the mountains at night and in summer it is winter, and a cloud has come up a little on the Sun - deep autumn. The flight of bees for a bribe is also necessary in bursts, and they must wait up to several cold days without switching on wintering instincts, i.e. a mountain hive should quickly warm up in the sun and store heat well.

Delon, the beekeeper, came to the conclusion that, first, the bees in such conditions need to be provided with the possibility of the fastest possible development of the family. Secondly, the type of hive most suitable for this should repeat the natural dwelling most preferred by wild bees - a log with a hollow. And in order to create conditions that will be good for the bees, and honey and wax will go to us, Roger Delon, based on the knowledge of social insects obtained by that time (middle of the last century), developed a very low wire frame capable of holding foundation without supporting threads ( see fig.), and already under it - a hive of square buildings 108 mm high, see fig. below.

For ease of care, Roger Delon made his hive-deck composite; the number of its buildings can reach up to 12 or more. The roof of the Alpine hive is deaf, like the vault of a natural bee hollow. There is only one letok, there are no ventilation holes to reduce heat loss. Ventilation is also like that of wild bees in a hollow: air enters through the notch, rises under the roof, cools down there, goes down and exits again through the notch. Bees ventilate themselves by fluttering their wings. There are also no stores, separators, diaphragms, etc., which we need more than bees. Thus, although outwardly the alpine hive of Roger Delon is similar to the multi-hull Langstroth-Root, the differences between them are fundamental.

The first tests of the new hive gave a result that Delon's colleagues did not believe at first, despite his impeccable reputation: the bees did not steal honey and did not go from family to family, even when 40-50 square meters were left for the bee colony. m. honey lands. In a very non-honey 1988, Roger Delon's hives produced 20-22 kg of honey, and dadans located in the same area - 2 kg each.

However, beekeeping in the hive of Roger Delon can be compared in terms of complexity and requirements for the professionalism of a beekeeper with caring for a canary or a budgerigar released into the garden in the spring. Labor costs for working with many small frames also increase in comparison with the Dadan hive by 3-4 times. At the same time, in flat places with bursts of honey plants blooming, climatic conditions are not so extreme, but even there the bees do not have time to take all the available nectar and pollen, and from an excess of bribe they begin to steal honey, instead of thoroughly exploring the surrounding honey areas. Therefore, we often offer for sale as alpine hives the hives of V. Khomich and Varre, modified for flat conditions, based on the same principles.

The hive of Khomich differs from the hive of Roger Delon in the body height increased to 220 mm, which reduces the number of frames with the same total area. Hive Varre converted already under non-standard wooden frame reduced height and increased width, see drawings in fig. on right; it is even more easily confused with the Langstroth-Root hive. The honey flow from these hives in bad years is less than from the prototype, but this is due to the lower productivity of honey plants. In the mountains, its significance acquires fantastic values due to the transparency of the air, moderate temperature and high insolation.

Ozerov and others.

From time to time, among beekeepers, interest flares up in the Ozerov and Lupanov hive under a frame enlarged to 500x500 mm. In conditions Central Russia with a long, but rather sluggish flowering of not very productive honey plants, it, according to the authors, should have given the same effect as Roger Delon's hive in the mountains. But it was smooth on paper. A frame of 500x500 is far from optimal for the development of a productive bee colony (are there many dry warm hollows half a meter in diameter?) and instead of increased marketability in hives for large frames, there is the allocation of side colonies, walking bees and stealing honey.

How to make beehives

The method of assembling frames for hives is shown above. The assembly of hive sections from the point of view of carpentry is somewhat complicated only by the need to choose folds at the top and bottom. At the top, the rebate is selected both inside and outside, see fig. External folds provide detachable connection sections when assembling the hive, and the shoulders of the frames rest on the inner one. If it is not possible to use a milling machine, the folds can be exactly selected with a special folded planer - a sherhebel. Hives are assembled on nails: you need a lot of screws of various calibers for the apiary, they will cost a lot, and they will not add strength to the hives.

Hangers in a poorly maintained hive can stick to the rebate, which is why enthusiasts are constantly suggesting non-rebate hanger designs. But in fact, it turns out that the side gaps of all of them “walk”, which is why the frames are no longer glued with hangers, but with sidewalls, which is much more serious. In general, the best foldless suspension is the correct timely care of the hive.

What are hives made of?

Traditionally, hives are made from seasoned non-resinous spruce, chamber or room dry, i.e. up to 8% humidity. In the air, then it will not completely dampen, because. from the inside it will be saturated with the vapors of bee bread, honey and the secretions of the bees themselves. Frames are made from the same spruce, but the best material for them is linden. Linden wood is light, which is why the whole hive is lighter, and very viscous, it does not prick under nails.

MDF is similar in properties to linden, but, as far as is known, no one has yet tried to make frames from MDF. Beekeepers are conservative people, and for good reason. However, MDF is not at all chipboard or fiberboard, it exudes gaseous products (“gassing”) even less than linden. More precisely, it does not gas at all: it completely lacks synthetic binders. MDF is obtained by pressing wood pulp with elevated temperature, resulting in almost pure lignin. On the expiration of phenol-containing compounds, etc. MDF is not certified, because That is unnecessary. In general, an MDF hive frame is perhaps the only thing a beginner beekeeper can experiment with.

plastic hives

Recently, hives from various kinds plastics. The Finnish polystyrene beehive, see fig., is quite popular due to its relatively low cost and immediate readiness for work: set it, put the frame in, and you can move in a family. Also, the unconditional advantage of polystyrene foam hives is negligible heat loss, but it is worthwhile to understand their other features in more detail.

The popularity of Finnish beehives has given rise to numerous attempts to make do-it-yourself foam beehives, but this is not at all the same thing. Styrofoam is the trade name for expanded polystyrene foam. The last phrase is not a tautology; not expressing the same thing in other words.

Expanded polystyrene as a raw material goes on sale in polystyrene granules saturated with dissolved gases. In the production of foam products, they are poured into a mold, which is heated to 80-90 degrees; in artisanal conditions - immersing the form in hot water. Gases are released, the granules swell, fill the mold tightly and stick together; on the surface and on the cut of the foam, its cellular structure is clearly visible.

Styrofoam material is very fragile, and advice to make beehives out of it, fastening plates ... with self-tapping screws, this is not even funny. The styrofoam hive will settle down simply when being carried, even before it is filled with honey. And molding foam at home from granules is not realistic: a form to which foaming granules would not stick is expensive.

According to another method, the granules are foamed separately and a hot viscous foamy mass is pressed (extruded) into a mold, this is the so-called. extruded polystyrene foam, XPS. XPS is much stronger than styrofoam and it is possible to extrude hive sections from it. But - only at a properly equipped enterprise.

However, that's not all. The overall strength of XPS is higher than that of many types of wood, but local (for scratching, cutting, pressing with something sharp) is much less. Therefore, if the hive is made of EPPS, it is impossible to remove the stuck frame from it without damaging the hive itself. In the same way, mechanical cleaning of the polystyrene foam hive is also impossible.

And that is not all. XPS, as well as its more durable and expensive substitutes (polyurethane, polycarbonate), are not absolutely resistant to ultraviolet radiation, temperature fluctuations, and precipitation. A protective paint/film increases its durability, but claims of a service life of ... 30 years are also not funny from the point of view of the most reckless marketing.

And that's not all either. Yes, plastics do not absorb condensate, it flows down in a plastic hive, from where it is discharged. But it is always warmer in a populated hive than outside. In a wooden hive, condensate is immediately absorbed without evaporating back, and diffuses outward - the dew point always shifts to the cold (more precisely, less warm) side. Therefore, the microclimate in a wooden hive, under the same external conditions, is more favorable for bees than in plastic ones, especially since in the latter there is no outflow of air through the walls.

And that's still not all. Almost any plastic, and especially XPS, when heated and under the influence of the slightest volatile impurities organic matter gasses in the air, which is not good for bees, honey, or its consumers. Experiments with heaters have shown that XPS slabs, tightly immured in building construction, over several years, seriously decrease in volume, releasing droplets of styrene - a viscous yellowish liquid with a specific odor. There is more than enough volatile organic matter in the atmosphere of the hive.

Note: hence another argument against plastic hives follows - disinfection / disinsection, for example. against a tick, and treatment of bees in them by spraying preparations is impossible, and medicinal syrups are very problematic.

The Finns are not worried about these circumstances: in the local climatic and economic conditions, disposable hives for disposable bee colonies pay off very well. Moreover, a considerable, if not the main share of the income of Finnish beekeepers comes from the sale of wax for technical purposes. Which the Finns, by the way, are of excellent quality. But beekeepers who specialize in the production of food and medicinal bee products subject polystyrene foam hives to harsh and well-founded criticism, see for example. track. video about Shapkin's hive.

Video: about Shapkin's hive

About warming hives

From the foregoing, it follows that it is also undesirable to insulate plywood hives with foam plastic, and this is true. For insulation of hives, it is better to use foam - foamed polyethylene (PE). PE definitely does not gas, because. only chemically attacked by strong acids and alkalis, it is resistant in the open air. Think about the problems with plastic waste.

Penolon is produced in sheets up to 12 mm thick, so several layers of it will be needed to insulate the hive. It is not necessary to insulate the hive over the entire surface, turning it into a thermos: for a normal wintering of the bee colony, some heat exchange between the space of the hive and the environment is necessary. The scheme and method of plywood hive insulation are shown in fig.

When choosing foam for hive insulation, you need to request a specification or a certificate for it from the manufacturer and make sure that the base is high-pressure PE, suitable for the manufacture of parts, incl. medical equipment. In the production of low-pressure PE (otherwise called catalytic PE), a cadmium catalyst is used. His traces in finished product negligible, but cadmium and its compounds are highly toxic carcinogens the highest degree dangers with a cumulative effect. Once upon a time, low-pressure PE household dishes were labeled "For non-food products and substances", but now "alternative" suppliers hide the mention of the method of obtaining their PE away in the paper.

Finally

So, which hive to start with? Completely without experience or, if the apiary is intended primarily for pollination, from a beehive-lounger. In the latter case, it is possible to use a Ukrainian sunbed without a store, and then it is better to entrust beekeeping and honey collection to a visiting beekeeper.

If you have taken the trouble to prepare in advance theoretically and in general imagine what bees are and how to handle them, it is better to make the Dadan hive first. By increasing it, you can eventually move on to commercial beekeeping without increasing the area under the apiary.

When will you become skilled, the best choice there will be a Varre or Khomich hive. With them, again, without expanding the apiaries and without attracting assistants, it is possible to achieve such a profitability and marketability of the apiary that one can think about switching to professionals and one's own industrial apiary from the Langstroth-Root hives.

One of the most healthy treats in our world, no doubt, is honey. After all, another tasty product that has such an amount useful substances, simply does not exist. And the hive is a kind of factory for the production of this delicacy, which must have everything necessary for the full existence of its inhabitants. That is why, before you start building a hive with your own hands, you need to carefully study all the nuances of the life of insects. To do this, it is worth studying special literature that tells about the existence of bees and their way of life.

A little about the device of the hive

Every adult knows that the bee community exists according to a special regime, where each bee clearly knows its role and has its place in the house.

The duties of young bees include feeding young animals, since they have more developed maxillary glands that perfectly produce royal jelly.
Middle-aged individuals are responsible for the cleanliness of their home.
Older bees are engaged in the construction of combs, as they have well developed wax glands.
There are also "flying" insects, their main purpose is to collect honey.
But the duties of drones include the fertilization of queen bees. But their life is rather short, because with the onset of autumn, males are driven out of the hive, where they die.

Each hive can be filled with several tens of thousands of bees, but only at the height of the summer season.

Do-it-yourself beehive

boa hive

The bee house consists of several parts: a body, a store, a liner and other components. Each department has its own residents and performs certain functions. The best option for beginner beekeepers is a boa hive.

Frame

The most important part of the hive is the body, because absolutely all bees use it for 12 months a year. There is always a queen bee here, which lays its eggs in the combs built for it. In summer, the honeycombs are completely filled with not only eggs and larvae, but also honey. Basically, this part of the hive is located in its lowest part. It should be well kept warm in winter, and in summer, on the contrary, be cool. That is why, in order to make the case, you need to use thermal insulation materials. Most often, PPS slabs serve as it.

In the case nesting frames should be located. Usually their number does not exceed 15 pieces, it all depends on the size and design of the hive. Frames are removable parts of the bee dwelling.

nesting frames

The bottom is attached to the body, which, depending on the model, can be removable. According to the hive design scheme, the frames should be in a suspended state. The distance from the bottom to the frame should not be less than 2 cm. It makes it possible to freely carry out pre-season cleaning of the bee house.

Important! For more convenient access, the subframe space can be increased to 5 cm. In addition, this will enable the beekeeper to feed the bees a little by placing a container with special food there.

Shop

This section of the hive is located on top of the body. It is in this part of the house that bees lay honey. In the manufacture of hives, it must be taken into account that the size of the store must correspond to the size of the body, and the number of frames must be the same. The extension should be warm, so it, like the body, is insulated.

liner

The liner, or ceiling, serves to additionally protect the hive from rain and other atmospheric precipitation, as well as to create a kind of air cushion, with which the house is supported optimum temperature air. However, beekeepers often use the liner as a roof. Then its surface is upholstered with iron.

Hive accessories

Honeycomb with perga

Before you make a beehive for bees with your own hands, you need to know what details should complement it. These parts of the bee house include honeycombs, a diaphragm, dividers, subframe roofing material and other details.

Frames intended for installation in the body are made by professional hive manufacturers from natural wood. The thickness of each of them should not exceed 4 mm. And to make it easier for the bees to build honeycombs, you can stretch stainless steel wire or a very thick fishing line along their perimeter. The shape of the frames can be varied, it depends on the type and design of the hive:

horizontal, having a height less than the length;
vertical with a height greater than the length;
square.

Hives of different types

Making hives with your own hands is a rather laborious work, requiring accuracy and perseverance, because it consists of quite a large number details. In addition to the above, each hive has:

Separators. They are designed to provide the necessary distance between the frames, which should be about 10 cm.
Diaphragm (insert board). Its main purpose is to divide the uterine nest. Its dimensions must match the body. It is located in the hive so that it divides it into 2 parts. Often it is installed in the case of dividing the space in the house when there are 2 bee colonies in it.
Stretcher. This is a sheet of roofing material, which is treated with a special composition to eliminate odor. It is made in the size of the bottom of the case. They insert it for the winter, and in the spring, the quality of wintering bees is assessed by its contents. It is harvested with the beginning of the season and stored subject to certain rules.
Dividing grid. It is installed so that the uterus cannot move from one part of the house to another. The usual location is the gap between the store and the building. It can be plastic or wire, and the cells are of a size into which worker bees can easily pass, but the queen bee and the tinder bee, which are larger, remained in the nests.
Folding loops. They are a connecting element, the main action of which is to connect the magazine and the socket housing.
Connecting tape. Serves for a stronger connection of all non-removable parts. The material for its manufacture, as a rule, is thin steel.

Diaphragm

How to make a do-it-yourself boa hive: drawings

Making hives with your own hands begins with the preparation of drawings and all the necessary details. The first thing to do is the bottom of the hive. There are 2 types: removable and integral.

Removable bottoms, as a rule, are made for multi-hull hives. Such a bottom allows you to quickly carry out spring work in the hive, as it is removed very quickly, freeing up space.

Important! The removable bottom should have universal dimensions and easily fit other hives in the apiary.

Non-separable bottoms have outlived their usefulness and are now used only in sunbeds, which contain more than 20 cells.

Before you build a hive, you need to create its blueprint. This must be done painstakingly, carefully calculating all the necessary dimensions. The bottom of the hive needs to be drawn on paper, and only then do the blank.

Frame hives for bees

The manufacturing technology of frame bee houses has not changed for a hundred years. As before, only the front and back walls of the hive are insulated. This option is great for the Urals, Siberia and more northern regions of Russia. The voids between the inner and outer walls are filled with natural insulation, such as moss or sawdust.

Note! Before you make a hive with your own hands, you need to correctly calculate the thickness of its walls. After all, the temperature of the air inside the “room” will depend on this parameter.

Also, cheap foam is often used as a heater. Its advantages are obvious: it keeps heat very well, rodents do not like it, and it is very light, which greatly simplifies assembly.

Do-it-yourself beehive from polyurethane foam

Polyurethane foam has recently been used in the production of beehives for bees. It is much more expensive than polystyrene foam, but its performance is much higher.

Making hives from polyurethane foam at home is not a difficult task in principle. All prepared parts are connected with wood screws.

Styrofoam hive

How to build a cheap bee hive for kindergarten

Materials for the manufacture of a decorative bee hive for pupils kindergarten there is a great many. One of the most budget options is twine - the only option for making do-it-yourself beehives for bees that does not require drawings.

To make a bee nest, you need to prepare:

balloon;
glue;
leg-split;
decorative details.

The balloon needs to be inflated and coated with glue (wallpaper glue is perfect). Then you need to wrap it with twine, but you need to do this so that a small window remains. The next stage of work will be decorating the hive. To do this, you can use any materials you like, for example, pentagons cut out of felt and artificial leather. To fill the hive, you can use a synthetic winterizer or foam rubber.

Not taking decorative hives into account, but having a large apiary, it will be rational to make bee houses with your own hands. After all, this can save quite a lot cash, which can be spent on the purchase of bee colonies different breeds. But here you need to take care of the quality of the material and purchase necessary equipment. By following the drawings, everything will definitely work out!