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Keeping bees in multi-hull hives allows you to save space in the apiary and receive large bribes. For the beekeeper, the process of caring for families is simplified. Multi-hull houses consist of interchangeable buildings. This is one of the important advantages of the technology. If necessary, the sections are easily interchanged.
Benefits of multi-hull beekeeping
The dwelling of bees should be convenient for the insects themselves and the beekeeper serving them. In multi-hull hives, each beekeeper determines the pros and cons from his own point of view. However, many avid hobbyists highlight more benefits:
- By placing each body on top of each other, the space occupied by the apiary is reduced. More often, beekeepers collect 4-hull hives, but there may be a different number of tiers.
- Multi-hull content allows you to divide the dwelling of bees into zones of different functionality. Better conditions are created for the reproduction of the bee colony, increasing the honey flow.
- The multi-hull model of the hive resembles a constructor. The beekeeper is given the opportunity to swap them and place the sections at his discretion.
- Each hive body is lightweight. They are easy to rearrange, carry, maintain alone.
Of the minuses, only the large weight of the multi-hull structure can be noted, if it is transferred as a whole, and not in sections.
Features of the device of multi-hull hives
A multi-hull analogue differs from a single-hull hive only in the number of sections. They are all identical for each model and are interchangeable.
Outwardly, multi-hull hives resemble a column. The design consists of the following elements:
- The body is made of boards, reminiscent of a rectangular box. The size depends on the model and the number of frames. The body is equipped with a taphole with a valve.
- The bottom of the hive is stationary and removable. The shield is similarly assembled from a board 35 mm thick.
- The roof is usually made flat with a slight slope. The shield is assembled from the boards, and sheathed with galvanized or aluminum on top.
- The liner is placed between the roof and the upper part of the hull. Sometimes sections are blocked by an element.
- The ceiling of the hive is assembled from a thin board. Two stripes are used for connection. The element is a horizontal diaphragm between compartments.
- The ventilation grill is a frame with a stretched fine mesh. The place of installation of the element is the roof, the folds of the roof lining or the body.
The variety of multi-building houses is great. The most popular models are Dadan-Blatt and Langstroth-Rooth. Hives are vertical and sunbeds.
Fans of the Canadian technology of keeping bees prefer Mishak’s multi-hull hives, which differ in size and special design. At first glance, the alpine hive created by the beekeeper Roger Delon seems unusual.
How to make a multi-hull hive with your own hands
First of all, a novice beekeeper needs drawings of a multi-hull hive if the idea came up to make houses on their own. Before searching for a scheme, it is necessary to decide in advance how many frames the design is needed for. The hives for 10, 12 and 14 frames are considered the most popular.
Drawings, materials, tools
A novice beekeeper needs to know that to assemble a multi-hull hive with his own hands, drawings can be taken from one model for any number of frames, for example, a 10-frame Dadan. According to this scheme, you can make a house for a different number of frames. The general scheme is the same, only the dimensions differ.
From the materials you need a dry board with a thickness of 35 mm. It is optimal to use wood of coniferous trees, willow, linden. To connect the boards to each other with a thorn-groove lock, PVA glue is used, which provides better sealing of the seams. The walls are pulled together with screws or knocked down with nails.
From the tool you need a saw, a milling cutter, a planer, a hammer, a set of chisels, sandpaper or a grinder.
Assembly process
Do-it-yourself multi-hull hives begin with the body. The board is dissolved into blanks, adhering to the dimensions of the drawing. Since the wood will still be sanded, leave an allowance of about 3 mm. For trimming, the parameter is increased to 10 mm.
On the sides, elements of the lock connection are cut. There is a spike on one side and a groove on the other. During washing down, it is important to observe straightness, otherwise the wall of the hive will turn out to be skewed. The blanks are carefully polished. The assembly is carried out with glue coating of the interlock. Using different widths of boards when assembling shields, the walls of the case are folded so that the seams do not match. The spacing of the joints will ensure the strength of the structure. At the corners of the body wall, they are tightened with self-tapping screws.
On the inside of the hive, in the upper part of the front and rear walls, folds 11 mm wide and 17 mm deep are equipped. The frame should become hangers in the folds so that between the top bar and the edge of the case there is a difference in height of 7 mm. The clearance is required for installation on top of the next housing. From the outside, in the center of the side walls of the case, transport handles are attached.
For the roof, a shield made of boards 25 mm thick is knocked down. The top is sheathed with sheet metal. About four ventilation holes are drilled in the roof.
It is advisable to make the bottom removable so that it is easier to clean the hive. The structure is assembled from a board, a harness is attached. Rear and side rails are solid. On the front element of the strapping, a notch is cut. A protrusion 50 mm wide is also equipped here, forming a landing board.
When all parts of the hive are ready, they are combined into a single multi-hull structure. Outside, the house is painted to protect the wood from destruction.
Installation of hives
According to the rules for keeping bees, multi-hull and single-hull hives cannot be placed on the ground. First, the wooden bottom quickly disappears. Secondly, the bees will be cold in winter, damp during rain, and hot in summer. Under the hives, special stands are made. At home, you can use brick or cinder block. For a nomadic apiary, metal folding stands are usually made.
Rules for keeping bees in multi-hull hives
In the period from spring to autumn, work with multi-hull hives Dadan, Ruta or other models, with the exception of some nuances, is almost the same as the maintenance of single-hull houses. The main difference is wintering. Strong families of bees are moved to separate single-tiered hives. For the survival of weak bee colonies, they are put on top of each other in cases.
The video tells about the content of bees:
How to form layering
Keeping bees in a multi-tiered house simplifies the process of layering formation. The beekeeper separates the body with a ceiling diaphragm. With the beginning of the season, the uterus is placed in the upper compartment, where it will begin to lay eggs and hatch young. During the honey harvest, the resulting layer is connected to the main family of bees.
Increase in bee colonies
To increase the number of bees in a multi-hull hive, the uterus must be provoked to increase the deposition of eggs. The beekeeper rearranges the compartment with the queen to the very bottom of the multi-hull house. The instinct will push the queen to move up and at the same time deal with the brood.
The procedure is carried out by heat in early May. The appearance of brood is expected by the beginning of the flowering of acacia. An empty body is inserted between the populated compartments of the hive to prevent bees from swarming. Large free space will create optimal conditions for the growth of the family.
Hull rearrangement rules
The maintenance of bees in a multi-hull house requires a periodic rearrangement of the buildings. The procedure helps to strengthen the bee colony and avoid swarming. There is no exact date when the hulls need to be rearranged. Each beekeeper keeps a calendar of observations for himself, draws up a schedule for replacing frames and installing new sections in a multi-tiered hive. The process depends on the amount of honey collection, the duration of flowering, the weather conditions of the area, the location of the apiary.
Wintering
The main difference between the content of bees in a multi-hull hive is observed in winter:
- Strong colonies of bees are moved to separate single-tiered hives for the winter. Weak bee colonies are left in multi-tiered dwellings.
- At a multi-tiered hive, where weak colonies are left for maintenance, the lower tier has a compartment with bees and brood. On the upper tiers, frames with food filled with honey and pollen are fixed.
- Eating food supplies, the bees will gradually move to the upper compartments. The lower empty body is removed after the onset of heat.
After wintering, they inspect the bees, check the condition of the uterus. Based on the results of the audit, further actions are planned.
Conclusion
Keeping bees in multi-hull hives is beneficial for nomadic and stationary apiaries. In addition to saving space on the site, fewer materials are required for the manufacture of houses, since the roof and bottom of several buildings are common.