Undoubtedly, the invention of such a device as a collapsible frame-based hive was a real breakthrough in the field of beekeeping. The manufacture of beehives was introduced into practice by the famous Russian and Ukrainian scientist P. I. Prokopovich. Until then, people had no idea how to organize the work of insects, and the procedure for collecting honey led to the ruin of nests from which the honeycombs broke out.
The design should be large enough for breeding and honey storage, as well as unified so as not to disturb the bees when assembling and disassembling it.
Do-it-yourself beehives can be made by any craftsman. The technology is not particularly difficult and does not require specific skills.
Material selection
The best materials for beehives are the following trees:
- pine;
- fir;
- spruce;
- aspen.
This takes into account the moisture content of the material. It must be thoroughly dried. The humidity coefficient should not exceed 15%.
Making your own beehiveshands requires the selection of quality wood. You should not buy boards with cracks, rot, knots and wormholes. Material with pores is also not recommended. Its use is possible only for facing works.
Basic principles in the manufacture of hives
Making beehives at home involves the following rules:
- Details for the future product must be smoothly planed. Burrs and notches are not allowed. The cut points must be at right angles to the longitudinal edges.
- It is necessary to ensure that when stitching the cases, the cut from the side of the core is outside.
- Planks are connected with nails. Their thickness is selected in order to avoid splitting the material.
- Dry wood may crack. To avoid this, the outer walls of the hives are recommended to be primed based on drying oil. Light-colored paint is added to it: white, blue or yellow.
- Manufacturing of houses for bees can be done from boards of any width. The walls from the inside are recommended to be made from one solid board or from two, which are connected by a tongue or groove. The outer skin can be made of tesin of any size. They should be located at different levels.
- According to the pattern, do-it-yourself beehives are made. Drawings are of paramount importance. Without them, it will be very difficult for the master to imagine what he is doing.
Possible size deviations
With a process such as making beehives with your own hands, sizes,drawings must be accurate. The value of the possible deviation is 1 mm, according to the diagram. If it has a higher indicator, then additional adjustment will be required.
Increase the life of hives
Beehive manufacturing technology has its own characteristics. But the devices require further care. If you want the design to serve you for many years, you must adhere to a number of rules:
- use only quality material;
- paint the outside of the hive every 2-3 years.
How to make a beehive?
Making bee hives with your own hands has a lot of advantages. The service life of such a design is at least 10 years. You save money and enjoy the work done.
In such a business as making beehives with your own hands, the dimensions of the planks are very important. In beekeeping, they often resort to making a double-walled model of 16 frames. Frame dimensions are 435x300 mm.
Manufacturing of beehives involves the following steps:
- First of all, the inner walls of the house are cut out (rear, front and side parts). The thickness of the boards is 2 cm. They are assembled like shields. They are connected by tongue or casein glue. The size of the back and front panels is 605x320 mm, and the side panels are 530x320 mm. Grooves are selected in the sidewalls. Themthe depth is 5 mm and the width is 20 mm. The distance between the grooves is 450 mm.
- Next, proceed to the manufacture of the rear and front outer walls. They are assembled into temporary structures in the form of shields. The thickness of the boards is 15 mm. The size of the shields is 675x500 mm. The side outer walls have dimensions of 560x500 mm. Each board of the outer wall is nailed separately. This is where fit is important. Bonded with casein glue, the inner walls are fixed with temporary overlays on nails. All corners must be square and the bottom edge must be horizontal.
- In the case, which consists only of internal walls and does not have a bottom, a lower notch is made. Its size is 10x250 mm. It starts 50 mm from the right side of the hive. The letok, located on top, has a size of 10x100 mm. It is located at a distance of 120 mm from the right side of the hive, and in height - 30 mm from the extreme side of the frame bars located on top.
- A wedge-shaped hole is made in the back wall of the hive along the bottom level. It goes into the space under the frame, which is necessary for protection against varroatosis. It is closed with an insert of a similar shape. Its size is 450x40 mm (inner side) and 450x45 mm (outer side).
- The entrance holes help to protect the space between the walls of the hive with small corridors based on planks. Their thickness is 10-15 mm, and the width is 20 mm between the walls.
- On the body, which has only inner walls, the first layer of boards that make up the floor is nailed parallel to the front (their length is 635mm). The first board protrudes forward by 10-15 mm beyond the redistribution of the structure. Arrival platforms are mounted on the ledge. In this case, the straightness of the corners between the bottom and the walls of the house is checked. Then, subject to accuracy, the boards of the first layer of the floor are nailed, while the wall space should not be blocked. A sheet of roofing felt or cardboard is placed on the first layer of the floor, and then the bottom layer is nailed. It covers the space between the walls of the hive.
- On the area of the ends of the walls located from the inside (protrude by 20 mm), the outer front and outer rear walls are nailed. Work begins at the bottom of the hive. Each board is nailed in turn. The end of each bar should also protrude 20 mm. In parallel, the walls are insulated. A notch is made in the first front wall. A hole is cut in the back wall into the space under the frame.
- In order for the outer walls to be stable, in the area forming the edge above the nest, the boards are nailed from the outside to the corner plates. On the ends of the rear and front walls, which protrude 20 mm beyond the side inner parts, the side outer parts are stuffed. Their thickness is 15 mm.
- Slats 40x20 mm in size are nailed to the inner walls of the hive along the entire perimeter, which cover the space between the walls with the upper part.
- In the strips that are nailed on the front and back of the device, 10x10 mm folds are selected in order to put frames. The planks should fit snugly against the insulation in the space between the walls, and in case of corner splicing, they should merge into a singleplane line.
How to insulate?
To insulate the space between the walls, they resort to using various materials.
For example, when making a beehive, you can spread an even layer of sphagnum moss on the inner wall and press it tightly against the outer wall. Moss is used not dried, but dried. It has elasticity.
Styrofoam sheets can also be used. Their thickness for the above design should be 22 mm. They are also placed on interior walls.
They also resort to the use of building insulation board, as well as soft porous cardboard, the thickness of which is 12 mm. Slabs or cardboard are cut to the shape of the walls and pressed against the outside with boards.
The use of tow, wadding, or wool as insulation is not recommended, as these materials do not allow air to pass through and often contain odors.
Beehive Roof Making
The roof of the hive should be light. The beekeeper often takes it off and puts it on. In order for these procedures to be performed without the help of outsiders, the design should not be cumbersome.
The height of the roof rail is 120mm. It is assembled from boards 15 mm thick. Free space is formed above the nest under the roof. Its height is 240 mm (120 mm of the side under the nest and 120 mm of the roof trim). In this space, there is a store on a half-frame, and an insulating pillow is placed on top. It is placed on top of the nest between the sides on the canvas that covers the frames. The pillow should fit snugly.
Pillow and pillowcase havelarge sizes compared to the inter-side space by 70-100 mm. Therefore, the recommended pillowcase dimensions are 750x538 mm, and the thickness after stuffing is 70-100 mm.
Place a pillow on the nest frame. It is laid between the sides. It helps retain heat. This is especially important in the spring period, after the first flight, when the lack of heat becomes fatal in the northwestern region, where the bees grow in the spring.
Choice of pillow material
Moss is the best and cheapest pillow material. But many beekeepers are of the opinion that moss is not suitable as insulation both in the pillow and in the side walls. Pillows, in their opinion, are subject to sediment. As a result of this, an empty space is formed, in which it will always see through, since the insert board also does not differ in tightness. The microclimate in the hive suffers.
Instead of moss, a variant of slabs or foam is offered. Such designs are extremely warm.
The size of the board for the passage of bees is 8-10 mm. It is important that winter insulation is used along with ventilation. Good insulation is required, as we said, and in the spring.
The hive can be designed on the basis of 12 and 14 frames. Then the indicator of its internal length will be 450 and 530 mm. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the size of other parts.
For greater clarity in the manufacture of hives, it is advised to resort to the use of drawings. They will make your job much easier.
Making Styrofoam Beehives
Every beekeeper,striving to improve his apiary, he is looking for modern drawings and materials. Innovative designs include beehives made of polystyrene foam. The material is thermally conductive and lightweight.
Conservative beekeepers would not trade a wooden hive for any other design. In their opinion, there is nothing more practical than making beehives from wood. But no material is absolutely perfect.
Advantage of Styrofoam hives
The design has a number of advantages:
- it turns out a house that is distinguished by silence and durability;
- hives are not subject to hypothermia or overheating;
- cases can be made the same size and interchanged;
- the design has few allowances;
- beehives do not let moisture through and do not crack;
- they do not have chips and notches;
- they are durable and comfortable;
- easy to understand;
- protect insects from bad weather;
- ensure the stability of the microclimate for bees;
- expanded polystyrene does not rot;
- body walls are inherently smooth;
- no need for additional insulation with canvas and pillows.
It should also be noted that the house is easy to make yourself. Its drawings are quite simple. This design is economical. But many beekeepers note that making such a house with their own hands is somewhat difficult.
Cons of such facilities
There are a number of disadvantages in a similar design:
- Internal seam parts are not strong.
- Propolis cases are difficult to clean.
- Wooden hives can be disinfected with lamps, but you can't do that here. You will need chemicals that can be harmful to insects and disrupt the structure itself. Some beekeepers resort to washing the hives with water or alkaline products. For example, sunflower tops ash is used.
- The case does not absorb moisture, it flows to the bottom of the structure.
- In Styrofoam hives, the amount of food eaten by bees increases. If the family of bees is strong, then it produces up to 25 kg of honey. This requires ventilation, which reduces feed intake.
- Hive is more suitable for weak insect families.
- Because of the impossibility of regulation of letkov bees begin to steal honey from each other, the microclimate is disturbed. It is possible that rodents will penetrate there.
What tools will you need?
Making Styrofoam beehives requires the following tools:
- pencil or marker;
- self-tapping screws (5 cm and 7 cm);
- glue;
- stationery knife;
- metal meter ruler;
- screwdriver;
- plastic squares for finishing (for starters, they are glued into the folds so that the material is not painted when the frame is removed).
Make recommendations
It is important to carefully make hives with your own hands. Dimensions, drawings must beclearly marked. Styrofoam is brittle.
There should be no gaps, as light rays can begin to penetrate between the walls of the case, and insects will begin to gnaw the hole. As a result, an additional notch is formed.
All tools should be at hand. A utility knife must be well sharpened.
A strong ventilation mesh is placed in the bottom, which corresponds to the size of the cells no more than 3.5 mm. An excellent choice would be a car tuning mesh made of aluminum.
Production steps
For the manufacture of polystyrene foam structures, they resort to using a drawing. Everything must be marked in advance.
- A knife is taken and along the marked lines, while maintaining a right angle, it is carried out several times until the plate is cut to the end. This is how blanks are made.
- The surfaces to be glued are smeared with glue and pressed tightly. Parts are fastened with self-tapping screws. Make fasteners with a retreat of 10 cm.
Reviews of beekeepers about structures made of polystyrene foam
It should be noted that the reviews of people experienced in beekeeping are more negative than positive.
- In the opinion of many, the independent production of such houses is difficult, as the material constantly breaks down.
- Styrofoam is prone to breakage when cleaning the case.
- The material is subject to rapid wear. We have to resort to sealing cracks with propolis.
- In winter in such a hivefood spoils quickly.
- The lounger becomes damp and covered with a layer of mold. Therefore, a grid is required.
- Styrofoam keeps the temperature constant.
- The structure must not hit anything.
- For bees, a natural material, which is wood, is acceptable. In nature, they are accustomed to hollows. The tree turns out to be much stronger and more useful for honey production.
- Many complain that a lot of light gets into such houses.
- They cannot be dyed as the material is solvent sensitive.
- Disinfection of the hive with a burner is not possible, and larvae often penetrate into such a structure.
In European countries, the production of beehives for bees from polystyrene foam has gained wide popularity. Beekeepers consider the choice of this material a good decision. They have long moved away from using wood, which also has its drawbacks.
