The diet of bees and their favorite treats. Beekeeping Secrets

I know that my article on the life expectancy of wintering bees differs significantly from the generally accepted point of view. But isn’t this what the search for truth is all about?

The vast majority of readers will already note from the title of the article what secrets these are? Indeed, reference books describe in some detail the reasons for the long life of wintering bees, but do they correspond to the truth? For example, the reference book says: “Bees consume a significant amount of bee bread, but their pharyngeal or wax glands do not acquire the function of excretion, and unused nutrients are deposited in the protein-fat body.

Little participation in work in the nest, as well as outside it, creates a generation of centenarians who live until the spring of next year.” They may answer: that’s the whole secret! However, the question arises: why is this so?

Perhaps everyone knows Albert Einstein, but few know that he began his career as a brilliant physicist by critically studying reference books, and that his lack of imagination made him a genius.

If we relate this to bees, then we take statements about the reasons for the life expectancy of bees on faith. However, various studies and access to information lead us, like Einstein, to ask different questions. Where did the belief come from that bees in August and September, feeding on pollen, do not produce milk? And if there is open brood in a family in September or even October, then why do some bees produce milk, while others do not, although they feed on the same food - pollen? Has this been confirmed by research? Is there some kind of switch in the body of bees that allows bees to produce or not produce milk and wax? What is the difference between spring and summer bees that produce milk when they consume pollen, from the same August and September bees that can, but do not want to produce milk while on the same diet?

The journal (No. 7/09) writes: “On the contrary, ... it has been established that worker bees that feed less brood, even at the height of the season, are similar to the generation of winter bees. Based on the research results, it can be assumed that the life of worker bees remaining... after the emergence of the swarm, since these bees were not exhausted by breeding new brood, much longer than those that fed the brood.” I would like to add that the studies conducted did not confirm this hypothesis. Why? It's clear to me why. But will this be clear to those who have no idea how to change their idea of ​​bees?

If you sometimes happen to talk with an experienced beekeeper about the method of obtaining honey from early spring bribes, I immediately hear from them how and why the right way Spring development of families should be carried out. It’s as if he’s reading a reference book, but that’s not what we’re talking about.

For many decades, our beekeepers have lived with the conviction that exhausted bees are not able to survive the winter. However, I propose changing the definition of “overworked” to “poorly fed.” Why? But because the practice of the Scandinavians contradicts our generally accepted preparation of bees for winter and proves that we are drowning in erroneous theories. In Scandinavia, syrup, like wax, is given in September (in the middle of the month). You can read about this in the magazine, which contains the same information concerning German beekeepers.

If Scandinavian and German bees are able to process syrup and build foundation in September and October without harm to wintering and spring development, then why can’t our bees do this? If the Scandinavians are not afraid to kill the bees going into winter, then why do we persist in our beliefs? By the way, the secret of the longevity of bees lies not in idleness and laziness - or in the lack of work, but in gluttony, or in nutrition. Which one? We'll probably hear what's in the pollen. But if the queen ate pollen, would she live longer? That's why she doesn't consume pollen, so it's all just a half-truth.

Bees that eat pollen, regardless of whether they want it or not, secrete milk. And it makes absolutely no difference whether they are spring or autumn, since pollen contains hormones that stimulate the pharyngeal glands to work. In August and September, fewer and fewer larvae need feeding, but more and more young bees eat pollen. And by feeding on pollen, they produce milk, which is not lost, since it is a very valuable food product.

If you cut or break out the swarm queen cells from the honeycombs and place them on the edge of the hive, there will always be bees that take the milk from them. And the existence of anatomical polypores further confirms that worker bees also feed on milk. Therefore, if there is an overproduction of milk, the excess is eaten by worker bees. Hence, when scarring is limited, longer-living bees appear. It is absent only if scarring turns out to be limited to already sealed brood. Therefore, the phenomenon of worker bee life expectancy is best seen if the queen is placed in an insulator with 2-3 frames.

The negative result of the research stems from the fact that in the mother colony that has released the swarm, a balance prevails between the number of nurse bees and the number of larvae requiring feeding. I will also add that bee jelly does not promote the development of the pharyngeal glands and does not encourage them to function - after all, the uterus feeds on it. I will also add that worker bee, which becomes a tinder, consumes, like the queen, only milk. However, if a bee even significantly enriches its diet with milk (only enriches it!), this can indeed prolong its life, but does not lead to the development of the genital organs. If the type of food has an effect on the larvae - and it is known that a queen or a worker bee can emerge from the same egg, then don’t bees have this property at later stages of their lives (drone larvae also receive a properly prepared food mixture)? Therefore, if the diet of bees contains, in addition to water, nectar, honey, pollen, beebread and milk, then we can assume the fact that different combinations of these food products control sexual, milk, wax, as well as vital functions (in the concept - life expectancy) . In practice, this means that if a worker bee, processing syrup or flying out to take bribes, changes its diet, it can again become a nurse or builder. But can this be clear to those who have been supplementing their knowledge from reference books for a number of years? I think that only if they want to understand.

Ponomarenko's spouses - Philip Philipovich and his wife Zinaida Romanovna from the village. Signaevka, Cherkasy region - people are friendly, hospitable and sincere at heart.

I came to them without warning, on a day off, to arrange the next meeting for an interview. The owners at this time were busy with housework (there is plenty of such work in the village every day). Philip Philipovich, having heard that I wanted to tell the readers of the newspaper “Smart Economy” about the hobby of an experienced beekeeper, put aside all his business affairs and did not postpone the meeting until later. He willingly told me about his bees, revealing the secrets of their daily care and talking about the healing medicines that these beneficial insects provide.

Where did your love for beekeeping begin?

Philip Philipovich is 64 years old. Of these, he devoted half a century to beekeeping.

With work in the apiary Philip started dating at the age of 14. His stepfather, Vasily Fomich Dzhegur, who replaced Philip’s father, instilled this love in him. My stepfather worked for a long time in a neighboring village as a collective farm beekeeper (there were 150 hives in the apiary, and there were also 80 hives at home). Vasily Fomich married Philip’s mother and moved to their village of Signaevka. The young man almost every day helped his stepfather manage the beehives in his home apiary.

Philip was interested in everything, everything fascinated him, and he set himself the goal of also having his own apiary. So before joining the army, Philip already had three hives, and later six.

Returning home after serving in the army, he applied himself to Far East, to Sakhalin. And when he returned, he went to work as a beekeeper at the Signaivo Bakery Plant, where he worked until his retirement - until the end of the nineties.

The company employed about three hundred people. For the needs of the workers, they kept their own apiary (16 beehives in total), and annually collected about a ton of honey, which was enough for all the workers of the plant.

Own apiary Filippa Ponomarenko was constantly increasing. And now there are more than twenty hives. There is enough care around the bees. But when the time comes to collect honey, and the owner inhales the aroma from the newly removed frame with honeycombs - this fragrant and incomparable elixir of health, then he does not have a single drop of doubt that this work is worth it!

The main thing for breeding bees is desire

- If I, a person who has never raised bees, would like to try, then where should I start?

Don't be afraid to start. Beekeeping requires only desire, otherwise there is no point in starting. I’ve already had so many students who start bees in the spring, but in the fall their hives are already dead. Bees bring success to those who reveal all their secrets.

A small apiary of several (two or three) hives is enough for yourself. They don't need much space. A small garden or vegetable garden is suitable for such an apiary.

You also need to take care in advance about where the bees will spend the winter. A winter shelter is used for this. If the winters are warm, then a winter hut is not needed; the bees can winter well outside. You just need to insulate the nests and hives.

Necessary equipment for a beginning beekeeper

You will also need special bee equipment - protective clothing, a chimney (to make it easier to deal with bees), a chisel, a scoop and a drinking bowl for bees. Most of the other things are optional to begin with, but will come in handy later. To do this, you should study special literature on bee breeding. Now there is quite a lot of it.

Preparing for winter - sanitary measures

- What kind of work are you doing in the last autumn months? How do you care for bees in winter?

I treat the hives against mites. In so many years, not a single family has disappeared. I try not so much to treat diseases as to prevent their occurrence. And for this I carry out timely sanitary measures for the winter: burning, cleaning the hives. If necessary, I repeat all this in the spring. I treat the hive against mites with Bayvarol. The hive should always be clean and tidy.

I have already sent my bees for the winter. Bee colonies often overwinter well in other adapted premises (for example, barns), which are well insulated, have access to fresh air, are kept quiet and are free of rodents.

Wintering bees outside

My bees spend the winter outside. I insulate the hives well with straw or other material.

Bee care in winter is to check their winter quarters. To do this, the bees are periodically (2-3 times a month) listened to through a rubber tube. The very quiet, low, but “thick” noise of wintering bees indicates their good wintering. The loud noise is the result of disruption of normal wintering.

Carrying out such an inspection at least once a month, it is easy to discover whether the hive is too damp or dry, whether the bees have enough honey, where exactly the bees are sitting, whether the honey has leaked, whether there is a lot of dead water, etc. Having discovered what - one of the reasons should be eliminated immediately.

When dampness appears in the hive, it is necessary to increase ventilation; if the bees are thirsty, give them water to drink; if there is no food, feed them with thick sugar syrup. It is better to give water and food in jar feeders through the top of the nest - so as to disturb the bees as little as possible.

- Which of your family members helps you in the apiary?

When my son Alexei was 14 years old, we were transporting beehives to a neighboring village one night. He was then bitten by bees so badly that he became allergic to bee venom. My grandson Maxim has been helping me for two years now. He, like me at one time, began to become interested in bees at the age of 14. He's interested in it. I see that he has a passion for this matter.

Sales of honey and bee products

- How much honey do you produce and where do you sell your products?

— One bee colony produces 24-25 kg of honey. I pump honey twice a year. A concrete amount of honey (56 kg) comes out from one bee colony.

It is difficult to use beekeeping as a business now. In our region, you cannot sell honey for more than 50 hryvnia per liter (it all depends on the quality of the honey, on what kind of honey it is: May, buckwheat or linden). Realizing how much work was put in, you won’t give it away for nothing. We have to look for sales, but today it’s difficult.

Someone, knowing the taste properties of my honey, comes to my home to get it. I treat my friends and acquaintances with my honey, and I also sell it on the market.

As a farewell, Philip Philipovich gives me some honey from his apiary to try. Delicious, I will say without exaggeration. And you, dear readers, just take my word for it...

If you want to see this for yourself, I providefamous beekeeper's address:

Cherkasy region, Shpolyansky district, village. Signaevka,st. Kotovsky, 24,

Philip Philipovich Ponomarenko.

Larisa Bachinskaya,

specially for the newspaper "Smarteconomy"

Of all types of hunting, perhaps bee hunting is the most humane. While catching stray swarms in the forest, the swarm hunter does not condemn his prey to death. It provides wild bees with a fairly comfortable, albeit somewhat slavish, existence. Reliable shelter in the form of a trap with frames, and then a full-fledged hive in the apiary, save the bees from possible death in the forest, but thereby force them to work for the beekeeper. How to catch stray swarms, what traps to use, where and when to place them - I will tell you about all this today, dear friends.

And at the end of the article, a small video surprise awaits you.

A curious incident happened in my apiary last spring. Looking through one of the bee colonies after wintering, I did not find a queen in it. Instead of a marked queen, on one of the frames I saw a queen cell opened at the end with a handful of drone brood around it. The fact is that the family went into winter with a young Buckfast queen and a large amount of brood, but today, at the end of March, there was neither a queen nor normal brood in the hive.

In early spring Last year, I was surprised to find under the entrances of four hives in my apiary the corpses of marked queens who had worked for one or two seasons. At first I was upset, but an experienced beekeeper I knew calmed me down and told me that in these colonies there had been a quiet change of queen and this was a great benefit for the beekeeper. Concluding the series of publications on uterus replacement, today I will talk about how a quiet uterus change occurs and what advantages a family with such a uterus has.

At the dawn of the formation of my apiary, like many beginning beekeepers, I expanded the number of bees in a simple old-fashioned way. The bees swarmed, and I caught the swarms and moved them into new hives in the hope that the swarm colony would not swarm again until at least the next season. But the whole “pichalka”, as they say now, was that they swarmed again and again already in July, and sometimes even in August. Moreover, every year the swarm symptoms intensified, there were many bees, but there was no increase in honey. It was then that I realized that until I changed the breed of bees in the apiary there would be no sense in such beekeeping. Since then, every time I manage to catch a swarm, I immediately change the queen in it to a purebred one.

Beekeeping from scratch - this topic interests many people who want to start their own apiary. But I dare to disappoint you - beekeeping from scratch or without financial investments is impossible.

Therefore, when they talk about this, they mean absolutely zero knowledge and experience in beekeeping. I also admit the theoretical possibility of beekeeping as a hobby.

But in order to develop a hobby into a profitable apiary or engage in professional beekeeping, you need financial investments.

And the bigger they are, the faster you can get hooked on beekeeping.

To get hooked in beekeeping - this means developing your apiary to a certain number of bee colonies, after which you will be able to constantly increase your apiary due to the profit from it.

In my apiary, the number of families ranges from 20 to 25.

So I think I was hooked in beekeeping, starting with 10 colonies. Until this point, financial investments were needed.

And every incident in the apiary: the loss of a queen by a family, the family being a tinder or the queen being a tinder, the unification of families in the spring or autumn was perceived as a big loss.

And only after 10 families did I learn without a noticeable decrease in the number of bee families in the apiary.

Each beekeeper begins beekeeping differently.

Some people were given their first family.

There are cases when entire apiaries are donated. But most beekeepers or packages of bees.

There are even beekeepers who buy the entire apiary at one time along with equipment, but there are only a few of them.

Let's imagine a situation where you caught a swarm or were given a family of bees.

And what’s longer is that the captured swarm or donated family must be placed in the hive. You can buy hives new or used, or make your own.

To make hives and repair them, materials and special tools are needed.

Hives need frames. They are also available new for sale or used, you can knock them down yourself. Frames require sheets of foundation.

You also need to buy ready-made sushi, if there is someone who will sell it. Be careful when buying sushi. Everything is transmitted through wax.

Buy or make it yourself: a chisel, an apiary knife, boxes for carrying frames, a tool for printing honeycombs.

You don't need a honey extractor at first. You can borrow it from familiar beekeepers.

You also don’t have to buy a table for printing honeycombs and a wax melter at first. The honeycomb can be printed over a large bowl.

And melt the wax in a saucepan. Since during the first years of practice you will have very little of it.

This is not a complete list of apiary tools.

Because we still need cell storage or an alternative to it; winter hut, if the bees will spend the winter in it; equipment for a nomadic apiary, if you are thinking of going nomadic.

The bees also need medicine and other things.

To buy all this you need money, and a lot of it. So, to the question is it possible to start beekeeping from scratch without a down payment, the answer is no.

And what more money invest, the faster the apiary is organized.

But without knowledge, without experience, beekeeping is not possible.

No matter how much money a novice beekeeper invests in the development of an apiary, without knowledge and experience his apiary will not be profitable. Otherwise he will lose her altogether, leaving him at a loss.

Therefore, if a beekeeper wants to achieve good success in his business, he must always learn by reading books, periodicals or blogs about beekeeping.

Because It's impossible to know everything!!!

And in order to succeed in beekeeping, you need to be aware of all new events, advanced technologies, know about new trends in the bee products market, the use of new medicines, share experiences with other beekeepers and adopt them.

Here is my series of articles about beekeeping from scratch or, which I will expand with other articles.

I told you that beekeeping from scratch without a down payment, without knowledge and experience is not possible.

Important!!!

Always, periodicals, blogs on the Internet about beekeeping.

Connect with beekeepers by sharing and gaining experience. It is not possible to know everything.

Beekeeping, despite the large financial investments, is a very profitable activity if you approach everything wisely.

Video on how to become a beekeeper.

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Everyone knows that bees are very beneficial insects. They benefit not only people by producing delicious, healing honey, but also actively contribute to the pollination of flowers. Let's talk about what bees love, what foods form the basis of their diet, and what flowers attract these wonderful insects.

Honey plants are the basis of bee nutrition

Surprisingly, the diet of small honey plants is very diverse. In order for a bee to work fully, it needs to be provided with good food. In summer, insects provide themselves with food by collecting pollen and nectar from plants. These two products are the basic component of the bee diet.

Pollen and nectar are rich in various chemical compounds, the main ones for bees being proteins and carbohydrates. They are the ones that honey plants need for the normal functioning of the endocrine system and proper operation muscles. By absorbing pollen and nectar, the insect gains strength for further honey collection.

Nectar is an aromatic sugar liquid secreted by the glands of flowering plants. Bees feed on nectar by sticking their proboscis into the middle of a flower. The carbohydrate content in the nectar of different plants differs, so striped workers fly from flower to flower. The drops of nectar that they love so much serve as fuel for honey insects, giving them the energy they need.

Pollen is also important for the life of bees. The inhabitants of the apiary eat pollen and, together with it, saturate their bodies not only with protein, but also with fats, sugar, and vitamins. All these substances allow honey plants to work productively, flying around up to 6 thousand flowers per day.

To enrich the diet of bees, and thereby increase their productivity, the beekeeper must take care of the variety of plants around the apiary. Consider a combination of green spaces so that the flowering period does not stop from spring to late autumn. Some flowering plants are replaced by others, allowing little workers to choose the flowers they love. By the way, the variety of colors will make the taste of honey richer.

What flowers do bees love most? Try to ensure that your garden is dominated by plants that are characteristic of your area and climate. Exotic flowers, although they have an alluring aroma, can be poisonous to insects.

The main factor for a bee to choose a flower is scent. Plants use special glands to emit a pleasant smell to attract honey plants. Therefore, choose lilies of the valley, daffodils, jasmine and other fragrant plants.

If you watch the industrious insects for a while, you will soon notice that they really love bright colors. The juicy color of the blossoming buds attracts bees like a beacon, indicating an abundance of sweet nectar. The red color of honey plants is prohibited, so try to ensure that there are no plants with scarlet flowers around the apiary.

To enrich honey with healing properties, plant plants that are considered the most favorable for honey collection near the hives. It could be lemon balm, sage, oregano. These plants, in addition to their rich composition, are distinguished by a large amount of nectar.

Hive supplies

Flying around fragrant flowers, the bee is distinguished by its agility and great speed. In one minute, the honey plant manages to pollinate about 10 flowers, while taking pollen and nectar with it. The bees have special baskets in their hind legs. Each of them contains an average of 20 mg of pollen. Having filled the baskets to the end, the bee carries the collected pollen to the hive, where it continues to work with it.

From pollen, insects produce so-called bee bread - bee bread. Bee bread is an indispensable food for bees, especially in winter period. This substance serves as the basis for the nutrition of the larvae: from bee bread, bees make royal jelly, which the young individuals feed on for the first days. The queens themselves eat only royal jelly all their lives. It gives them enough building protein and vitamins to produce offspring.

Returning after pollination, the bee begins to tamp the pollen into one of the cells, while wetting the grains with saliva. Enzymes contained in the salivary glands promote fermentation. After a few weeks, the fermentation process releases all of the pollen. useful material, proteins and vitamins. After this, honey plants seal the cells with honey and wax.

The nectar collected by bees is converted into honey through the process of fermentation and evaporation of moisture. Their proboscis contains special salivary enzymes. Mixing with nectar, saliva triggers complex chemical processes. It turns out that honey is a nectar concentrate, and it is also obtained as a result of fermentation. In addition to carbohydrates, which provide bees with energy, honey was found a small amount of mineral salts, organic acids and even protein.

After the nectar evaporates most of moisture, honey plants seal the honeycombs with wax. Honey can be stored in this form for as long as you like. This is how the bees provide their colony with honey for the entire wintering period. Honey is the staple food of bees when the flowering period ends.

When sending bees for the winter, make sure that there is enough food in the hive. Having good supplies of honey and bee bread, the bee colony will safely overwinter and be ready for the new honey harvesting season. On average, one bee colony needs from 20 to 30 kg of honey for wintering (depending on the region). The longer it lasts cold period, the more food the bees will need.

To raise brood, one bee colony needs two honeycombs with beebread. In addition to honey and bee bread, honey plants are fed with sugar syrup and medicinal additives. Syrup or sugar will be needed if there is not enough honey or it turns out to be of poor quality. Yeast, dough, milk and caramel can replace natural food. These products can fill the required amount of protein, but it is better if you find real honey for your honey plants.

In summer, nectar droplets contain a sufficient amount of water. But in winter, honey, which is more concentrated, cannot quench the thirst of insects. Therefore, drinking bowls are installed in the hives.

Video “What do bees eat?”

A very educational video in which you can clearly see how a bee eats honey.