Winter in the apiary is an extremely important and responsible period, because any mistake can lead to the loss of an entire bee family. In modern conditions, most of the honeycombs, of which honey was selected, are unsuitable for wintering insects. This article discusses the proper preparation of bees and nest assembly.

When should assembly begin?

The nest is assembled several times. Before starting its preparation, it is necessary to inspect the bees 2-3 times a month, starting in September. At the end of summer, insects weaken, and in the conditions of emptied honeycombs this happens very quickly. During the last honey collection (end of August), it is necessary to reduce the cells, which will not be used further.

Important! Those cells where the feed is left can be marked with a marker so that they are not mistakenly removed.

Bee nest assembly for the winter

For all its apparent simplicity, preparing a bee swarm for wintering is not the easiest job. Below is a step-by-step guide for this process.

Assembly preparation

In preparation for the winter, all the frames are examined for the presence of honey in them. Those that contain 1.5 kg or less are removed - they do not have enough food for the family. The size of the nest is selected depending on the strength of the family, since extra territories are not needed. Cramping is just as bad for insects.

To determine the strength of the family, you need to carefully lift the hive’s canopy early in the morning, count the number of occupied streets and write down the data in a notebook. The assembly of the nests will be carried out taking into account these records. Care must be taken to ensure that the honeycombs are filled with honey, and not feather, as insects can quickly eat all the food and crawl along the hive in search of food. Of the materials during assembly, you will need a framework (6-7 per hive during cold wintering and up to 10 for warm) and protective equipment for the beekeeper.

Did you know? After fertilization of the uterus, which occurs on the fly, the drone dies. But his sperm may be enough for 9 months of fertilization.

Bee inspection

Insects remaining after the dying off of the part of the swarm that occurs in the first half of autumn occupy the middle of the nest. At this point, the honeycombs do not contain a large amount of honey. It is necessary to examine the bees - those that have occupied the cells and are motionless in sunbeds, will consume a minimum of honey and emit a small amount of excrement.

But the specimens located on the surface of the frame form a dense club. These individuals can not be disturbed and do not collect frames. If possible, they should leave the same conditions for the winter.

Frame reduction

Reduce the scope immediately before the onset of the cold period. At the same time, the amount of honey in them must be taken into account - those frames where more than 2 kg of the product are left for feeding insects.

Important! It is better to collect the framework where there are many unsealed cells. The honey in them can turn sour or even mold.

There are several ways to assemble frames:

1. Small honeycombs with a small number of bees are removed - insects are shaken out, and the frames are transferred to the warehouse.
2. The hives are equipped with honey cells on the south side, and less crowded cells are placed in the hive, where the bulk of the swarm gathers.
3. Some hosts evenly fill the hive with frames of half nectar. In this case, the same good wintering is noted.

Frames on which the children remained cannot be removed, even if there is practically no honey left in them. You need to wait for the ripening of the youth and shake it out of the cells.

Direct assembly of the socket

The final assembly of the socket is made in this way:

1. About 10 mm holes are made in the middle of the honeycomb, through which insects can migrate between neighboring streets.
2. When setting the framework for the winter, the streets expand by 10-13 mm to facilitate the movement of bees.
3. On the periphery of the extreme frames, it is necessary to print all the cells so that the honey from them is transferred to the middle, and the inhabitants do not creep along the edges of the room.
4. The roof is removed in the hive, which with its heat can attract a club of bees. Instead, a piece of dense fabric is laid - a canvas.
5. When cold weather sets in, families move to a place for wintering and leave alone until spring.

Video: bee nest assembly

An interesting expansion technology, after using insects in a base hive, called the dadan nest. A superstructure with a new framework is being made to the main hive, where, under favorable conditions, the family moves.

Features of feeding bees

The winter period for bees is inactive, but this does not mean at all that they do not require feeding. Usually, by the end of winter, the supply of food in the combs runs out, and the insects need help with nutrition. Honey is a natural food, but if it is not available, you can replace it with a surrogate - sugar syrup.

Did you know? The bee family totals from 60 to 120 thousand individuals. A harsh winter can reduce the "livestock" to 10-20 thousand.

And it’s better to prepare a sweet Candy mixture, which is done like this:

1. The honey is heated and liquefied, a little sugar powder is added to it.
2. The composition is kneaded for a long time until smooth.
3. Cakes are made of it and packaged in a plastic film, in which holes are cut.
4. Kandy is stacked on top of the frame and insulated.

Such top dressing does not provoke insects to fly into the cold season and gives them a sufficient amount of nutrients. A few granules of salt and pollen can be added to the mass.

Tips from experienced beekeepers

The centuries of beekeeping have helped people develop many tricks and methods to help insects survive harsh cold times.

The tips of experienced beekeepers will help novice beekeepers:

• so as not to disturb the inhabitants of the hive once again, you can foresee the correct amount of honey and do without feeding;
• if you still had to feed, then you need to do this no earlier than the end of winter - in mid-February so that the bees do not have diarrhea;
• short-term solution to the problem - candies, which are an excellent source of sweetness;
• in preparation for winter, the hives need to be whitened and fumigated with sulfur from pests;
• the room for wintering should be dry and treated from rodents.

With their family lifestyle, bees are extremely responsive to the care of the beekeeper. High-quality preparation for the cold season and the support of the swarm during a possible spring fasting will help insects winter and delight in the new season with an excellent amber product.