Rules for keeping bees

The law on beekeeping should regulate the breeding of bees and promote the development of this industry. The provisions of the law define the basic rules regarding the breeding of honey insects, as well as establish the necessary standards for their maintenance in various conditions. The activities of any apiary must comply with the provisions of the law.

The current federal law on beekeeping

Currently, there is no current federal law on beekeeping. Attempts to adopt it were made several years ago, but it did not even pass the first reading. Therefore, beekeeping issues are regulated either by local legislation containing laws on bees, or by documents of various specialized departments.

Also, there is no special instruction on the maintenance of bee colonies and the organization of beekeeping in settlements and suburban areas. Currently, three documents are used for these purposes, defining in one form or another the basic principles of keeping bees.

Law No. 112-FZ “On personal subsidiary plots”

It describes the rules that must be observed for keeping bees. However, they are presented not only as requirements for the arrangement of an apiary, but also as provisions of which documents should be observed to create it. That is, there are no specifics in them, but there are only references to other laws and orders. This law and its provisions will be of little interest to beekeepers.

Document of the Main Directorate of Veterinary Medicine of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture “Veterinary and sanitary rules for keeping bees” dated 15.12.76/XNUMX/XNUMX

Collection of rules and regulations for the maintenance of apiary. Contains the most useful information. It is from it that all the necessary parameters and standards related to:

• equipment and technical equipment of the apiary;
• its location on the ground;
• events held there;
• methods and techniques for monitoring the condition of bees, honey collection, and other processes;
• other issues of beekeeping.

Many provisions of these “Rules” were included in the draft federal law “On beekeeping”.

Instruction “On measures for the prevention and elimination of diseases, poisoning and the main pests of bees” No. 13-4-2 / ​​1362, approved on 17.08.98

In fact, it repeats a similar document of the State Veterinary Administration of the USSR, adopted in 1991 (which in turn consists of the previously mentioned “Veterinary and Sanitary Rules …”), and describes a number of issues related to the keeping of bees, but with a greater degree of specificity.

In particular, the main points related to the maintenance of apiaries are indicated:

• requirements for their placement and arrangement;
• requirements for keeping honey insects;
• measures to protect apiaries from pathogens;
• describes measures to combat infectious and invasive diseases, bee poisoning, etc.

Comments, questions and explanations to the Federal Law on beekeeping

As you can easily see, the provisions on beekeeping, which operate instead of a single federal law, are “smeared” over several documents, which are, in fact, instructions. This has both its positive and negative sides.

The positive ones include the fact that these documents indicate specific parameters and specific actions that must be observed or taken by the beekeeper in order to work with the apiary. The negative is that the lack of the status of a law does not allow the full use of the provisions of the rules and instructions in possible litigation.

The provisions of these documents are discussed in more detail below.

Veterinary and sanitary rules for keeping bees

The veterinary and sanitary passport of an apiary is a document that must be present at every apiary, regardless of the form of ownership or its departmental affiliation. That is, even in private apiaries there should be a similar document.

It indicates the name of the owner of the apiary, his coordinates (address, mail, telephone, etc.), as well as information about the apiary itself. This information includes:

• number of bee colonies;
• assessment of the sanitary condition of the apiary;
• epizootic state of the apiary;
• list of recommended activities, etc.

Each passport has an expiration date and serial number.

The passport is filled in by the beekeeper independently and signed by the chief veterinarian of the district. You can get a passport in the department of veterinary medicine of the district or region.

There you can also get an apiary diary (the so-called diary of a beekeeper). It is not a mandatory document, however, it is recommended to keep it in order to better assess the condition of the bees and the effectiveness of their work.

Mandatory documents required for the sale of any bee products are veterinary certificates in the 1-vet and 2-vet forms, which are also issued by the regional or district veterinary department. The information contained in them is filled in by the veterinarian on the basis of the veterinary and sanitary passport of the apiary.

To practice apitherapy, one must either obtain a license for medical activity (which is impossible for beekeepers without a medical education), or permission to practice traditional medicine. Naturally, the second option is more common, but this requires a diploma of a healer. Diplomas of a healer are issued by the Federal Scientific Clinical and Experimental Center for Traditional Methods of Diagnosis and Treatment or its local representative offices.

Rules for keeping bees for large objects

Apiaries should be located at a distance of at least half a kilometer from the following objects:

• roads and railways;
• sawmills;
• high voltage lines.

The location of apiaries should be at least 5 km from:

• confectionery factories;
• enterprises of the chemical industry;
• airfields;
• polygons;
• radars;
• television and radio towers;
• other sources of electromagnetic and microwave radiation.

Restrictions on the content of bees in the garden

Apiaries or bee hives should be located at least 100 m from educational institutions (schools or kindergartens), medical, cultural and other civil structures of great importance, or where a large number of people are concentrated.

Veterinary rules do not separate types of locality (rural, urban, etc.) to comply with this rule, that is, these rules have the same interpretation for personal plots located both in rural areas and in urban areas.

What are the rules for keeping bees

The maintenance of bees requires compliance with certain standards. First of all, this applies to apiaries located within the boundaries of settlements, since in this case you will have to deal with neighbors. It is possible that not everyone will like to live next door to the apiary, since the likelihood of bee stings increases significantly. The situation can reach the point where, due to bee stings, neighbors can even sue the beekeeper.

In order to avoid the legal consequences of such incidents, it is necessary to follow the rules for placing beehives in summer cottages. These rules are quite simple to follow, so the likelihood of a negative outcome of all kinds of official actions on the part of neighbors or the authorities is minimal.

The main requirements for keeping bees in the private residential sector relate to two simple rules:

1. The distance from the hive to the neighboring area should be at least 10 m.
2. The area per bee colony must be at least 100 sq. m.

To find out if there is an area requirement for one bee colony, it is recommended to check with local beekeeping legislation. This information can be obtained from local authorities or the veterinary service.

How many hives can be kept on a plot in a village

If regional legislation prescribes that each bee colony has at least 100 sq. m area of ​​the site, then you should adhere to this requirement. In this case, the calculation of the number of hives is done according to a simple principle:

1. They draw a plan of the site and limit the area for the placement of hives on it (at least 10 m from the fence).
2. Calculate the area of ​​the remaining plot in square meters. m, which will be the apiary area.
3. By dividing the resulting area by 100, the maximum number of hives is obtained. Rounding is done down.

If the amount of area is not stipulated by regional legislation, the maximum number of hives in a settlement cannot exceed 150. The existing legislation does not divide the keeping of bees by types of settlements, the apiary can be located anywhere – in the country, in the city or village.

How far should the apiary be from residential buildings

Small apiaries (up to 150 families) can be kept in settlements, adhering to the provisions set forth in the veterinary rules. This means the location of the apiary 100 m from children’s and medical institutions or crowded places. Restrictions on the distance to residential buildings also remain unchanged – at least 10 m to the fence.

There are no norms prescribing the location of large apiaries located outside settlements in the existing rules. It is understood that in this case, this distance should not be less than the maximum flight distance of the bee (up to 2.5-3 km).

Rules for breeding bees in the village

When placing bees in a settlement, the following provisions should be observed:

• the distance between the hives should be from 3 to 3,5 m;
• hives are arranged in rows;
• distance between rows – at least 10 m;
• in front of the entrances of the hives, it is necessary to remove the sod 50 cm forward in their direction and cover the ground with sand;
• foreign objects and various architectural objects should not be placed on the territory of the apiary;
• the height of the fences along the perimeter of the site or its part bordering on the neighbors’ plots must be at least 2 m, fences, dense shrubs, various types of hedges, etc. can be used as a fence.

Hive entrances are directed towards plantings intended for honey collection.

What kind of bees can be kept in the village

According to the rules for keeping bees in a personal plot, it is forbidden to keep bees with aggressive behavior in settlements, which can harm the population or damage any type of economic activity.

Paragraph 15 of the “Rules …” prescribes the maintenance of bee breeds that are peaceful, namely:

• carpathian;
• Bashkir;
• Caucasian (gray mountain);
• Central .

In addition, according to the rules, it is possible to keep bees of different breeds at their summer cottage.

How to keep bees in the village

The basic rules for keeping bees in a village are no different from keeping them in any other locality, and they were discussed earlier. The most important requirement is a fence, with a height of 2 m, irresistible for insects.

Subject to all the rules, the law will be on the side of the beekeeper, since there are no other prohibitions on keeping bees.

How to keep your neighbors safe

The main way to protect neighbors from bees has already been described earlier – it is necessary to equip the perimeter of the site with a fence or thick hedge at least 2 m high. In the presence of such an obstacle, the bee immediately gains height and flies away for a bribe, without posing a threat to people.

Also, in order for the bees not to disturb the neighbors, it is necessary to provide them with everything necessary for life (primarily water), so that they do not search for it in other people’s summer cottages.

To provide water to the bees, it is necessary to equip several drinkers in the apiary (usually 2 or 3). A separate drinker is also allocated, in which the water is slightly salted (a solution of 0,01% sodium chloride).

Sometimes it helps to plant honey plants on the site, but this practice is not a panacea, since the bees will choose the nectar from them very quickly.

What to do if your neighbor has bees

If a neighbor keeps bees, then this is more good than bad. Insects, one way or another, will still penetrate the site and do their small but important business there – to pollinate plants. Bee stings are a serious problem only for those who are allergic to bee venom.

To protect yourself, you should isolate yourself from your neighbor with a dense fence or a fence at least 2 m high. This should be done only if the neighbor did not do it himself and no other methods (personally contacting a neighbor, a complaint to the authorities, etc.) n.) did not give results.

To avoid too much attention of insects to housing or a plot, objects that attract bees should not be placed on the territory. These include, first of all, open containers with water, sweets, various drinks, etc.

During summer preparations (mainly jams and compotes), this work should be done in a well-ventilated area, and ventilation holes and windows must be equipped with nets through which insects cannot get to the sugar source.

Conclusion

To date, the law on beekeeping has not yet been adopted, but this does not mean that there are no norms regulating the keeping of honey insects in settlements. These norms are set out in three main documents, which everyone can familiarize themselves with in local authorities or find them on their own on administrative resources on the Web. Compliance with these norms will help create a correct legal framework and protect the beekeeper from possible unpleasant consequences.