Do-it-yourself hive: video, drawings, basic manufacturing principles

Criteria for selecting ready-made houses

When buying a ready-made bee house or if you want to make it yourself, you must first decide on the model.

When choosing a suitable design, you need to take into account the following criteria:

climate and weather conditions in the region: if spring and summer are cold with characteristic frosts, you need insulated, double-walled hives, they can be left to winter outside;
possibilities for honey collection in the area: for abundant honey collections, double-hulled and multi-hulled beds are suitable, for meager honey collections - small, single-hulled ones;
type of apiary: for a stationary one, heavy beds and double-hulled houses are suitable, for a transportable one - light, compact, multi-hulled, made of polystyrene foam;
planned methods: if you need to create another family with a new queen, you need a lounger;
apiary size: for a large farm, hives are ideal, from which honey can be quickly pumped out, for example, double-hulled ones;
experience in beekeeping: it will be easier for beginners to start with a simple bed design.

To find out what types of hives are successful in your area, you can consult with experienced beekeepers and observe their work.

So, you have decided to build a bee hive. Where to begin?

Before building a hive, you need to find out all the possible issues that you may encounter during the construction process. It is very important to choose the right material, study the design of a beehive and familiarize yourself with all the popular hive designs. First, let's figure out what kinds of hives there are?

The most common types of hives

Vertical structures - the structure of a beehive of this type is a multi-hull house, where the frames are increased by adding them on top. Mobile and lightweight option. The Dadan hive belongs to this type. Horizontal hives - the area is increased by adding frames horizontally, i.e. parallel to the ground. Quite bulky and difficult to look at. A variety of such a hive is the Ukrainian lounger.

Gallery: types of hives for bees (25 photos)

Selection of material

Tree . The best option because it is closest to natural conditions. The most suitable species are cedar, linden and aspen, since they have a pleasant smell and the wood is drier. If you want to save a little, you can choose pine, fir or spruce. But keep in mind that these rocks are less comfortable for bees as they retain moisture. The advantage is that you don’t have to heavily insulate such a house.
Plywood . Quite a good option due to the environmental friendliness and long-term service life of the material. Additional costs will be required for insulation with polystyrene foam and coating with paint. Be prepared that plywood is afraid of moisture.
Expanded polystyrene . Most modern hives are built from it, because they are attracted by its low cost and savings on insulation, which is not required. There are also significant disadvantages - fragility, brittleness and deterioration in the quality and quantity of honey.
Styrofoam . One of the cheapest options, because even material left over from purchased household appliances will do. The pros and cons of its use are similar to those of expanded polystyrene. Another drawback is destruction under the influence of direct sunlight.
Polyurethane . It retains heat very well and is resistant to rotting, mold and decomposition, since it does not allow moisture to pass through or accumulate inside. Mice, birds and the bees themselves are unlikely to risk chewing through a house made of this material. Bactericidal. The main disadvantage is high flammability and ventilation.

Making a drinking bowl for bees

Beehive lounger - what is the difference and how to make it yourself

Bee hive structure

The structure of the hive is quite simple. The design includes a body that accommodates honeycomb frames, a bottom, a lid and a magazine extension. The case is essentially a box consisting of walls. You can choose the dimensions of such a box only based on your own preferences and convenience. In one of the walls, namely the front, there is a hole in the form of a slot - the so-called tap hole, which for convenience can be equipped with a valve. A board for arrival is installed just below.

A store extension is a not so obligatory attribute of a bee hive; it serves to store honey during its collection, and also as a home for weaker colonies that produce little honey. It looks like a shortened body. The lid is most often flat, protecting the bees from bad weather, bright sunlight and insects, including parasites. If desired, you can equip it with an undercover, which is similar in functionality to a magazine extension. The roof liner is also a kind of insulation and a place where you can install a feeder.

The bottom of the beehive can be either removable or nailed. The first option is the most convenient, since the beekeeper will be more comfortable monitoring the bees and, if necessary, providing any assistance. The advantage of a fixed bottom is that, thanks to its design, the protruding edges provide an additional landing platform.

Types of bee hives and their characteristics

Dadanovsky . The most common, simple, light and spacious. It is made of wood and can consist of twelve or more frames. If the bee family grows, you can add frames and cases to it. Made from spruce, linden or aspen. A woodworking machine, environmentally friendly glue, paint and tools - everything that will be useful to you during construction.

First, prepare the wooden boards by running them through the machine. To connect the walls of the street, it is necessary to make grooves in the boards.
Using a cutter, channels measuring five by ten millimeters are cut in the middle. Planks measuring eighteen by four millimeters are prepared.
Connect the boards into a shield by gluing the cut grooves and strips. You should get four panels for the walls and one for the bottom.
Assemble the panels into a box using nails and glue. Apply paint intended for use on wood and let dry.
A board one and a half centimeters thick is suitable for making a roof. It is necessary to cover it with a water-repellent coating and drill several small holes for ventilation.

Alpine . France is rightfully considered the birthplace of this hive. Roger Delon practically recreated the natural living conditions of bees in a multi-hull house. The design of this hive is similar to a hollow, which is their habitat under normal conditions. Very compact, without unnecessary partitions, cracks, except for the entrance at the bottom, the structure. Air circulation occurs naturally: fresh air enters with the bees from below through the entrance, rises to the top, warming up at the same time, and comes out again from below. The roof is not removable.

How to make a boa hive with your own hands

Ruta . Suitable for those who live in warm southern regions, since constant rearrangement of housings causes excessive cooling of the beehive. The design itself consists of six buildings, each of which has ten frames. Each new building is added gradually, after the bee colony has mastered the previous habitat.

Cassette . Since the incidence of bees, unfortunately, is growing, many beekeepers began to prefer cassette hives. The main difference between a cassette hive is its thinner walls, not painted with any paint, but covered with wax, which protects the bees from diseases. In such conditions, they themselves maintain the microclimate they need and, due to the most natural coating, feel more comfortable.

Ukrainian sun lounger . The best option is if you are a beginner beekeeper. The simplest design that does not require special care and extra costs. The standard capacity of such a house is about twenty frames. It withstands wintering well thanks to its thick walls.

Farrar's Hive . Multi-hull house for bees, which was designed by an American beekeeper. It consists of four cases, which are designed for frames measuring fourteen and a half centimeters. In such hives, colonies develop better, since this design is lighter, more convenient and the frames will not stretch in hot weather due to the large weight of the honey. One of the advantages is also the ease of inspecting the frame and collecting honey.

Hive Boa Constrictor . It consists of a combined bottom and several bodies mounted on a compressed socket. Lightweight, compact design of eleven buildings, which does not require insulation with the help of additional walls and liners. Thanks to the light weight of this type, both women and those who do not have much strength due to health reasons will be able to engage in beekeeping.

Horned hive . This type of home for bees was created by beekeeper Mikhail Polevoda. One of the most inexpensive options that will not hit your budget if you decide to start beekeeping. Moreover, the design of this hive is quite simple and is suitable for those who do not have large areas on their site.

Little tricks that may be useful to you

Grooves must be cut into the walls of the case for installation and convenient rolling out of the frames.
To make it easier to move the housings, you need to make handles on the walls - this will greatly facilitate the process of moving the hive.
Remember to protect your bees from mites. To do this, just install a galvanized mesh.
If the winters in your area are too cold, then take care of a heater. Its power should not exceed ten watts.
The hive must have a feeder made of nomadic mesh.
It is very important to leave minimal gaps between the planks. Because bees can store propolis in them or build honeycombs, which is not very convenient.
The roof of the house is built at the very end, making sure it is of sufficient weight.
Dry the boards thoroughly before working with them! Otherwise, there is a high probability of deformation of the hive; over time, the frames will no longer fit into their usual place. It is advisable to choose boards without knots, since after a certain time they may simply fall out.
The glue is selected to be as environmentally friendly, moisture-repellent and highly durable as possible.

Lectures on beekeeping by Vladimir Georgievich Kashkovsky

The hive is built, which means it’s time to choose the honey-bearing workers themselves!

One of the first questions of a novice beekeeper is undoubtedly the problem of acquiring bees. The answer is quite simple - from more experienced beekeepers. The main thing is that his apiary is no less than twenty kilometers from yours, because with a shorter distance there is a chance that the purchased bees will simply return. You can also buy bees at a beekeeping station in your region, a public apiary or a state reception center, because here specialists will help you and the likelihood of buying old and sick colonies is reduced.

The best time to purchase them is spring or early summer , when they actively reproduce. By purchasing bees in the spring, you get the advantage that already this year they will be able to bring you the first harvest and stock up on food for the winter.

Pay special attention to the choice of breed, which should be as adapted as possible to the weather conditions of your region. For longer and colder winters, Carpathian and Central Russian breeds . If you want to get linden honey, then choose the second option. Carpathian bees, let’s say, specialize in meadow grasses.

How do bees winter?

Be sure to read the sanitary and veterinary passport and the document indicating the well-being of this region in terms of bee health. When inspecting the family you are purchasing, make sure there is a queen. If you don’t find it yourself, then brood of different ages will be a sign of its existence. In order to avoid doubts about her health, you can invite a more experienced beekeeper with you to the selection process.

A healthy and productive queen is indicated by the continuous sowing of eggs over the entire area of the comb, the absence of large gaps and unfilled cells. Broods of different ages should not be located next to each other. A barren queen will also show itself by the presence of drone brood and polypores. Pay attention to the age of the uterus - because the older she is, the fewer eggs she will lay. In general, one bee colony maintains about eight frames in the spring, fourteen to fifteen in the first half of summer, and about ten in the autumn.

If you do not have a lot of starting capital, then a bee package may be the ideal option for you. It consists of four or six frames. A package of four frames must contain at least one and a half kilograms of bees, a young and healthy uterus, and the permissible death limit is no more than twenty bees. The two outer frames must contain food weighing at least three kilograms of honey, the two inner frames must be completely filled with brood.

The bees brought to their apiary are carefully placed in their new home; they are not disturbed for the first 24 hours, allowing them to get used to it and calm down.

Requirements for a homemade hive

Experienced beekeepers recommend taking into account the following rules when building a homemade house:

the building material must be durable and impervious to moisture in order to protect insects from bad weather conditions;
you need insulation that will keep you warm inside in winter and comfortable cool in summer;
It is desirable to have not one, but several entrances, which can be closed and opened according to the weather;
there must be enough space in the hive for the movement of bees, for brood and honey;
the design should be convenient for the beekeeper so that he can easily collect honey, clean the house and take care of the family; an opening lid and/or a removable bottom will be needed.

What material is best to make bee hives from?

Initially, wood was used for hives. Without going into details, let's say: he was chosen by the inhabitants of the amazing bee community themselves. Keeps warm perfectly.

It is easy to process. Breathing. Durable. Practical. Available for sanitization. In modern conditions, it has mobility, disassembly, and interchangeability of components.

Innovators are desperately fashionable. Innovators dream of using construction fiberboard, chipboard, etc. to make beehives for bees.

I would like to immediately warn beginners. No matter how attractive and colorful the displayed samples may look, do not give in to temptation.

They contain toxic volatile substances that negatively affect our bees. Chase aesthetics and simplicity - you will lose your apiary!

A separate question is about new polyurethane foam products. Everything flows over the years, everything changes. Such bee hives have their adherents.

Polyurethane foam hives

The industry accepted them into production. The unsurpassed advantage of such hives is their extraordinary weightlessness, plus the ability to miraculously retain heat in the hive.

Yes, these are the huge advantages for which beekeepers love them. Only deformation repels. Hit - a dent, or even a sink! When handling at work, extreme caution is required.

The most famous designs

Main types of hives

On the Internet you can find many schemes for making a beehive with your own hands. When choosing the most suitable scheme, pay attention to the type of structure. Among the existing ones, the following are considered the most common and convenient:

Horizontal. They are also called sun loungers. They look like a horizontal box, the length of which can vary depending on the number of frames. Its peculiarity is that the nest and the store are located next door.
Vertical, also called risers. The box has a vertical arrangement, the design consists of several tiers. Its size is increased by adding new housings or magazines on top (as opposed to horizontal, in which additions are made from the side).

Important! The division of types also depends on the size of the frames. They can be narrow and high, low and wide or equilateral.

Dadanovsky hive

One of the popular designs that is installed in many apiaries. It received its love because of its ease of use and spaciousness. It can be made with your own hands from wood, and it consists of 12 frames, which can be supplemented as desired. In the summer and after increasing the family, the hive can be enlarged with the help of additional buildings.

Alpine

A multi-body hive built in the likeness of a hollow. It has gained great popularity due to its similarity to the natural living conditions of wild bees. This structure is ideal for places with limited space. It has no partitions or holes for ventilation. Fresh air enters the hive through the entrance.

This dwelling is suitable for honey plants in warm regions, since due to regular rearrangements of buildings, the thermal effect inside the dwelling is disrupted. Ruta contains 6 cases of 10 frames each.

Cassette

These hives have become popular due to the emergence of new bee diseases. This design has thin partitions, and therefore the swarm creates a microclimate for itself.

Important! Constructed from natural material, impregnated with wax.

Ukrainian lounger

An ideal solution for inexperienced beekeepers. You can quickly make it yourself. They consist of 20 frames and insulated side walls, so the honey plants survive the winter cold well. The Ukrainian sun lounger is easy to maintain.

Multi-body beehive, non-rebated

The hive is thin-walled, wall thickness 20 mm. Suitable for regions with warm climates. The house has a lot of advantages - the buildings are light, easy to build with your own hands, and very practical.

Main types of hives with drawings

You can make a hive of different shapes and sizes with your own hands. We will consider the most popular options among beekeepers separately.

Hive Dadan

Found in almost all apiaries. It is made of wood - cedar, spruce, pine, linden or aspen. As follows:

Its obvious advantages are simplicity, spaciousness and modularity. The classic model consists of 12 frames, but as the bee colony grows, it can be supplemented with new buildings or stores. Here is a drawing of a classic Dadan hive with 12 frames:

The roof can be made not flat, but 1- or 2-slope, so that raindrops roll off the roof surface better.

Alpine hive

According to the principle of construction, the structure resembles a hollow, since when developing it, beekeeper Roger Delon tried to recreate conditions for bees that were as close as possible to natural ones.

Externally, the Alpine hive is a multi-body vertical “pyramid”, since the nesting boxes in it are located one above the other. Because of this, the design is compact, but has a large height, and also includes the following features:

there are no partitions, ventilation gaps or grilles in the buildings;
a taphole is installed in the lower part of the house, through which natural air circulation is carried out and moisture accumulation is prevented, as well as condensation deposition;
a feeder or ceiling is made in the upper part of the hive to create an air cushion;
all cases, except the bottom one, do not have a bottom, so to install the frames, combs or slats are attached to the walls;
each compartment of the general body contains from 3 to 8 frames, depending on the number of individuals in the bee colony.

There is no need to insulate the walls of the hive, since in winter it is simply covered with a plastic bag.

Langstroth-Ruth Hive

The vertical type structure is made in several floors of 10 frames and takes up a minimum of space. Experienced beekeepers create hives of this type up to 7-8 floors and with their help they collect more than 200 kg of honey in combs per season. Beginners can use a minimal version - with one body and a semi-magazine, since a large magazine attachment will significantly increase the overall volume of the structure and make it difficult to insulate the nest.

Here is a diagram of a multi-body hive:

If individual blocks of the structure are equipped with pins, a more reliable structure can be obtained.

Cassette hive

Unlike other models, in such a hive the nesting bodies are made in the form of drawers, which are installed in a common body with bars fixed on its sides - runners, on which the cassettes will run. The distance between the frames in the housing must be at least 10 mm in order, if necessary, to isolate part of the hive from the main space with horizontal bars or plywood partitions.

On each retractable body of such a hive, entrances are made, the central ones have a diameter of 25-30 mm, and the slot ones have a length of 200 mm and a height of 10 mm. If you plan to make a common door, then the holes for the entrances should be made in it, opposite the gaps between the cassettes. An arrival rail is attached under each entrance. The entire structure is protected by a pitched roof, under which there are ventilation holes.

A cassette multi-body hive with 10 frames can be assembled according to the following scheme, where 1 is a single body, 2 are cassettes, 3 are frames, 4 is a dividing panel, 5 is a layer of insulation, 6 are protective covers, 7 are sub-cassette sections:

A cassette hive requires more effort and materials to manufacture, but it is more convenient to transport than others, so it is the best option for outdoor apiaries.

Beehive lounger

Unlike the above models, this hive is horizontal and is perfect for housing several bee colonies. This design is a box divided by stationary partitions into several parts, each of which houses a separate family of bees with its own queen.

The hive can be additionally equipped with a magazine, installing it on top of the nesting compartments or between them. For each of the sections, a taphole is prepared in the lower part of the front wall. It is better to make the roof gable to protect the structure from precipitation and overheating in extreme heat.

The bed can also be made for one bee colony. Here is a drawing of such a primitive design:

Medicinal properties

Bee house is used for treatment in alternative and standard medicine. This method is called "Sleeping on the hives." The effect is achieved in three ways:

Healing air.
Microvibration.
Action of the biofield.

Bee air contains propolis and flower nectar. Inhaling this mixture cleanses the respiratory tract. Helps with bronchitis, cough, acute respiratory infections.

Bee hive heals

Cardiovascular diseases.
Infertility.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Helps with post-operative rehabilitation, as well as metabolic disorders in the body.

The use of bee therapy is prohibited if

Alcohol was consumed.
For allergic reactions to pollen and honey.
Taking any medicine.
The disease is in the acute stage.

Before starting the treatment procedure, it is recommended to wear a special headdress, this will prevent bees from getting into your hair. The use of perfume is not allowed.

The benefits of honey have been known since ancient times. Recently, bee honey has been actively used to treat cancer. Cancer is a malignant tumor that kills healthy cells in the body and weakens the immune system. Treatment with honey restores old cells and enhances the work of new cells.

In addition to honey, bees are also used in treatment. When moving, these insects create vibration and positively influence the human biofield. This method of treatment strengthens the immune system, invigorates and gives strength.

Buy or make it yourself?

Residents of Russia who dream of beekeeping always face a difficult question. Where to start - buy ready-made hives or make them yourself? There is no clear answer. Decide on a solution to the problem.

Calculate the economic costs. If the goal is intra-family consumption, treating beloved relatives, then the purchase of tools, machines, lumber will cost a pretty penny and will significantly increase unjustified expenses.

Of course, we must not forget the time spent making bee hives with our own hands. Time also costs money.

If carpentry has already been established, there are certain capacities, think about it. You will need high-quality drawings of bee hives. Fitting requires the highest degree of craftsmanship.

That is why the vast majority tries to purchase factory-made hives. They undergo appropriate certification and are unified. Payback is quick. Quality is put at the forefront.

Materials for making hives

Initially, beekeepers collected honey from wild bees in the hollows of forest trees. Then someone came up with the idea of making log decks and installing them near their home. Modern Hive is a simplified and, more importantly, lightweight version of the deck. Therefore, wood is considered the best material for making beehives. Bees feel very comfortable in wooden houses.

Do-it-yourself electric drive manufacturing technology for a honey extractor

Linden is considered the best type of wood for making hives. It absorbs less moisture and contains virtually no wood resins.

However, the thermal insulation properties of this tree are low and hives made from linden must be additionally insulated for the winter. In addition, linden boards are more expensive than other, more common types of wood.

Hives made of pine and spruce are much cheaper and retain heat better. But the pine smell and ability to absorb moisture make hives made from these types of wood not comfortable enough. The main advantages of houses made of pine and spruce are low cost and good ability to retain heat.

What material is best to make hives from?

Since ancient times, wooden beehives have been installed in the apiary. For their manufacture, natural soft wood of linden, poplar, willow, spruce or cedar was used. Today, polystyrene foam and polyvinyl chloride hives are found on sale. They have many advantages over wooden models - lightness, ease of transportation and assembly. But the main advantage of a wooden house is its naturalness and environmental safety.

To make a bee house, buy high-quality cut soft wood. The boards used for construction are processed and sanded. Their surface should be smooth, without chips or knots. Knots that are well fused with the surface are allowed on parts with a width of at least 65 mm. The walls, bottom and roof of the hive are made from boards of various sizes. Only one rule applies to them - high quality wood (no rotten or rotten places, no mold or rotten knots).

Recommendation: before making an apiary, inspect the boards, treat them, and dry them well.

https://youtu.be/vR2zMg7EWSo

Plywood

An easy-to-process and durable material for bee houses, which, however, does not withstand moisture, and therefore its outer surface must be primed and painted. To retain heat, the inner surface of the plywood hive is covered with polystyrene foam. Plywood structures are strong and lightweight, but require annual maintenance to ensure protection from moisture.

Expanded polystyrene and foam plastic

These materials have become quite widely used for the manufacture of hives in recent years. They are easy to process, and therefore making a hive from them is much easier than from any other material.

Constructions made of polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene are very light, dry and warm. Bees feel quite comfortable in such houses. The low cost of materials makes them accessible to most beekeepers.

The disadvantages include low strength and fragility of the structure, which requires very careful handling. In addition, polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene are susceptible to exposure to ultraviolet rays and are destroyed over time. Therefore, to protect from solar radiation, hives made of these materials must be painted.

Polyurethane

Another modern material that does not rot, is moisture resistant, is not afraid of ultraviolet radiation, is easy to process, retains heat well and has a low specific gravity. Polyurethane is not damaged by mice, birds and insects. Hives made from it are light and comfortable. Disadvantages include its flammability, inability to pass air and high cost.

Video about making hives from different materials

Requirements for hive design

The main requirements for the design of bee hives are that they must provide a dry, well-ventilated and warm environment for the bees. When developing your own design that differs from standard options, you should take into account some features. As practical experience shows, design dimensions should include the following:

the width of the top bar on the frame is 25 mm;
between the axes of adjacent frames there should be 37.5 mm;
the width of streets or passages for bees is 12.5 mm;
between the side slats of the frames and the walls of the hive no more than 7.5 mm;
from the top of the frame to the lower body and from the lower bar to the upper body there should be no less than 8 and no more than 10 mm;
the distance from the bottom bar of the frame to the bottom of the hive body is within 20-40 mm.

It is recommended to paint finished hives in different colors. This helps the bees better navigate and find their home faster.

These insects are especially good at distinguishing yellow, orange and blue shades, as well as white. The roof must be painted white to reduce its heating by the sun's rays. Before painting, the surface is treated with drying oil or primer.

When using thin walls for the winter, they are insulated with reed or straw mats. You can use other insulation materials, but this option with mats is the cheapest. Compliance with these conditions will ensure the normal development of the bee colony and simple maintenance of the hive.

Selection of materials

When making a hive, you can use various materials:

Tree. A classic option for building a bee house. Helps create natural conditions for insects. It is best to choose a species of wood - cedar, although you can use linden or aspen, but the structure will have to be additionally insulated. Such hives are dry, breathe well and smell pleasant. You should avoid using pine, spruce and fir - such houses are warm, but moisture and resin accumulate in them, and they also have a pine aroma.
To make a hive, you need to choose wooden boards whose humidity is kept within 15-16%.
Plywood . It is a durable and environmentally friendly material, but its structure must be painted and insulated from the inside with polystyrene foam to maintain heat and dryness. Plywood is extremely sensitive to moisture, so it requires constant and proper care.
Expanded polystyrene . A relatively new material in the manufacture of hives. It is attractive due to its low cost and lack of need for additional insulation in winter. Expanded polystyrene has its drawbacks - it is fragile and brittle. When using poor quality material, there is a possibility that the properties of honey will deteriorate.
Styrofoam . One of the most economical and affordable options, as you can even use packaging from household appliances. The foam construction is lightweight even with the frames filled and has excellent thermal insulation, but is very fragile and requires constant painting to protect it from sunlight.
Polyurethane . It has good thermal insulation and does not allow moisture to pass through, so fungi and bacteria do not develop inside the hive. This material is practically not chewed by bees, mice and birds, but it has its drawbacks - it is highly flammable and practically does not allow air to pass through.

A hive made of any material should be painted white, as it is better remembered by insects and repels the sun's rays.

DIY “horned” hive

One of the simplest and, at the same time, effective designs for making beehives with your own hands is the “horned” hive. This model got its name due to the presence of connecting pins protruding from the corners of the body. It was invented by Mikhail Polivoda, who decided to develop a multi-tiered sectional hive that was as easy to manufacture as possible.

Each individual section consists of 4 boards, 155 wide and 22 mm thick, knocked together in a frame. To connect the sections to each other, 22x27 mm bars are fixed in the corner parts of the body, protruding 22 mm in the upper part and not reaching the edge by 17 mm in the lower part.

When the housings are installed on top of each other, these bars connect them, creating a strong monolithic structure. The remaining gap between the bars is intended to allow disassembly using a chisel or other tool. The internal dimensions of the case are 450x300 mm.

The tightness of the joints between the connected bodies is ensured by the selection of end folds along the edges of the boards. In order to simplify the work, instead of folds inside the body, you can nail parallel bars on which the shoulders of the body frame will rest. In this case, the structure will become somewhat heavier, and the internal dimensions will be determined by the distance between these bars.

The quality of board processing is not critical. The main condition is the absence of strong roughness. The same can be said about the thickness of the board. It is important that only the internal dimensions are maintained.

The bottom is made of metal mesh with a 3x3 or 4x4 mm cell, stretched over a frame body made of boards 100 mm wide. On one of the narrow sides there is a wide taphole with a height of 22 mm. A lid with a continuous layer of boards is used as a ceiling.

In winter, for insulation, it is covered with polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam glued to a sheet of tin. After manufacturing, all sections must be primed and painted with colored paints.

The working capacity of such a “horned” hive is designed for the installation of 8 Dadan or magazine frames. The structure, assembled from several sections, is installed on a wooden platform slightly raised above the ground. The wall thickness of 25 mm provides additional insulation in the winter season.

Advantages of a “horned” hive

Most beekeepers admit that Mikhail Polivoda developed a very simple and successful design, noting that:

making a beehive has become easier;
any dry wood can be used as a material;
Even wood waste can be used as bars;
production does not require complex tools;
the weight of the case is light, which makes it possible to move it to a new location without much difficulty;
you can use store-bought frames or make them yourself;
the design is inexpensive and accessible even to novice beekeepers.

As a result, the solution is practical and very comfortable to use.

Instructions for making and assembling a classic hive

Thanks to its simple and understandable design, the Dadanovsky hive was considered a classic option until recently. Its design consists of:

several housings for installing frames;
two stores;
bottom;
ceiling;
liner;
roofs;
insert board;
10 or 12 frames.

Mandatory additional accessories included in the kit include a feeder, a drinking bowl and entrance barriers in the form of conical wooden plugs.

Before you make a hive with your own hands, you need to select and purchase the necessary materials, for which you can use dry linden, aspen, pine or spruce boards 30-40 mm thick, and for the lid and roof liner - 15 mm thick. The surface of the boards must be carefully processed on at least one side and at the ends. No more than 3 knots are allowed in any wooden part.

Constructing a pollen trap with your own hands

The material you can use is polystyrene foam, foam grade no lower than 40, or polyurethane. To assemble the structure, you need PVA glue or other waterproof glue with a strength of at least 20 kg/cm 2, as well as nails with a length of 10, 40 and 60 mm. The roof is covered with a layer of roofing material or other waterproofing material. At the final stage you will need drying oil, paints and brushes.

Manufacturing of the body and magazine

For the manufacture of cases and magazines, existing boards are cut into lengths of 530 and 340 mm. Along the long ends of the boards, tongues and ridges with a width of 15 mm are selected. Shields are assembled from the prepared sections using a tongue-and-groove adhesive joint. To create the possibility of hanging frames, a fold of 11 mm wide and 20 mm deep is selected in the front and rear walls.

Along the inner edge of the side walls, it is necessary to remove a fold 16 mm wide and 10 mm deep, and along the outer side, remove a chamfer of 5x5 mm. Thanks to the presence of this fold, the magazine will be installed on the body, and the chamfer will ensure reliable removal of moisture from the walls during rain.

A fold of 24 mm wide and 10 mm high is made along the lower edge of the body and magazine. The dimensions of the shield for the side wall are 490x340 mm. In corner joints they fit into the folds of the front and rear walls.

Making a roof

The roof structure consists of a roof and a retaining frame. The roof is assembled from boards 10-15 mm thick or plywood 8-10 mm thick is used. For waterproofing, it is covered with two layers of roofing felt or waterproofing material. It is even better to use sheet aluminum or galvanized iron.

To hold the roof in a fixed position, 20x20 mm wooden slats are nailed along the perimeter of the frame. It is necessary to drill ventilation holes in the end walls and cover them with a metal mesh with a 3x3 mm mesh.

Bottom assembly

The bottom of Dadanovsky hives is detachable. The shield is assembled from boards 40 mm thick with glue into a 10x20 mm tongue and groove. The outer strapping is made from a wooden block when connected into a tenon. A fold is selected along the top edge to allow installation of a magazine. The dimensions of the bottom must correspond to the dimensions of the body.

Bee hive: classification

For more than two centuries, beekeepers have used frames to extract honey from the bee's home. It was this invention that made a huge leap in the improvement of artificial bee dwellings and today remains the most convenient form for servicing hives. Over the past 1.5 hundred years, changes have concerned only the size and number of buildings.

The classification of beehives for bees provides for division according to the following criteria:

By design: non-demountable and collapsible. The second type is increasingly gaining popularity because it is more convenient to use: you can replace parts, not the entire hive; expand or reduce the nest; when transporting empty structures, they take up minimal space;
Direction: vertical and horizontal. Horizontal structures are more bulky, but are easy to maintain. When building vertically, buildings or shops are placed one on top of the other, which allows increasing the living space for the family, and takes up a minimum of space on the site;
By functional purpose: in addition to the usual maintenance of the family, the bee house can be intended for the wintering of queens or scientific research into the behavior of bees.

Depending on the design, purpose and direction of expansion of the nest, several types of modern hives are distinguished.

Dadanovsky

This design is the most common in the middle zone because it is simple in design and spacious. Most often, the body is made of spruce boards. Main components of the structure:

Case for 12 frames (size 435 by 300 mm);
Several magazines (half frame size);
Roof and roof liner.

The bottom of such a hive is not removable, but the presence of several stores allows beekeeping to be carried out with the least amount of anxiety for the bees.

A peculiarity when servicing hives of this type is that when the bribe increases, the bees may not have enough space to store honey, so the beekeeper must carefully monitor the loading of the honeycombs and set up a store at the right time.

If the queen is young and active, in such a hive, if the installation of the store is delayed, too many young individuals may appear, as a result of which the colony comes into a swarming state. In this case, it is better to set up the store in advance - excess space, especially in the summer, cannot cause such harm to the family as a too cramped hive.

Important! Working with store extensions is very convenient in an amateur apiary and is completely ineffective on an industrial scale. Therefore, despite its popularity, such a hive is gradually being replaced by more productive multi-hull structures.

Hive rue

The main feature of this type of hive is the increase in size due to the same size bodies in the vertical direction. The frame dimensions are 226 by 232 mm, although they can increase or decrease with changes to the case.

The basic principle of working with a rue hive is the interchangeability of the bodies, as a result of which the bees are constantly stimulated to collect honey. This happens due to the physiological need of insects to fill empty honeycombs from top to bottom. When the beekeeper places frames with unfilled combs between the full body and the nest, the bees immediately detect this and begin to work hard.

The effectiveness of this design is recognized all over the world, but it is most suitable for beekeepers with experience, since it requires constant monitoring and rearrangement of the housings.

Important! The rue hive has a number of advantages:

Increasing the amount of commercial honey, strengthening families (they always have room for development);
Reduced time for inspections (only work with cases is required);
All frames are the same size (working with them is simplified).

When using hives of this type, novice beekeepers should pay special attention to the temperature conditions during inspection. If the weather is cool, then they should pass quickly so as not to catch the brood. That is why such designs are more suitable for regions with warm climates.