Manufacturing of hives by own hands: the sizes, drawings. The technology of manufacturing beehives from expanded polystyrene at home

Undoubtedly, the invention of such a device, as a collapsible beehive based on the framework, has become a real breakthrough in the field of beekeeping. The production 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 reproduction and stock of honey, and also unified, so as not to disturb the bees during assembly and disassembly.

The production of hives by their own hands can be made by any master. Technology is not particularly complex and does not require certain skills.

Material selection

Optimal materials for hives are such trees:

• Pine;
• fir;
• spruce;
• aspen.

This takes into account the moisture content of the material. It must be thoroughly dried. The moisture content should not exceed 15%.

Manufacturing of hives by own hands demands a choice of qualitative wood. Do not buy boards with the presence of cracks, rot, knots and wormholes. Material with pores is also not recommended. Its use is possible only with facing works.

Basic principles in the production of hives

Making hives at home Assumes the following rules:

• Details for the future product should be smoothly cut out. It is not allowed to have burrs and notches. The slots should be at right angles to the longitudinal edges.
• It must be ensured that, when stapling the shells, the cut from the core is outside.
• The straps are connected with nails. The thickness of them is selected taking into account the fact that the material is not split.
• On dried wood, cracks may form. To avoid this, the external walls of the hives are recommended to be primed on the basis of drying oil. It adds a light color shade: white, blue or yellow.
• Making houses for bees can be done from boards of any width. Walls from the inside are recommended to be made from one solid board or from two, which are connected by a tongue or a ridge. The outer skin can be made of tesin of any size. They must be located at different levels.
• By the pattern, the hives are made by hand. Drawings are of paramount importance. Without them, it will be very difficult for the master to imagine what he is doing.

Possible deviations from the sizes

With such a process, as making beehives by your own hands, the dimensions and drawings must be accurate. The magnitude of the possible deviation is 1 mm, according to the scheme. If it has a larger figure, then an additional fit will be required.

Increase the life of hives

The technology of manufacturing beehives has its own characteristics. But devices require further care. If you want the design to last you for many years, you must adhere to a number of rules:

• Use only high-quality material;
• Paint the hive outside every 2-3 years.

How to make a beehive?

Making beehives for bees with their own hands has a lot of advantages. The service life of such a structure is at least 10 years. You save money and enjoy the work done.

In such a case as the production of hives by their own hands, the dimensions Straps are very important. Beekeeping often resorts to the production of a double-walled model of 16 frames. Dimensions of the frame are 435x300 mm.

Manufacturing of hives assumes the following stages:

• First of all, the inner walls of the house (the rear, front and side parts) are sawed out. The thickness of the boards is 2 cm. They are assembled as shields. Connect by means of a dowel or casein glue. The size of the rear and front panels is 605x320 mm, and the side panels are 530x320 mm. Slots are selected in the sidewalls. Their depth is 5 mm, and the width is 20 mm. The distance between the grooves is 450 mm.
• Then proceed to manufacture the back and front outer walls. They are collected in temporary structures in the form of shields. The thickness of the boards is 15 mm. The size of the shields is 675x500 mm. The lateral outer walls have dimensions of 560x500 mm. Each board of the outer wall is nailed individually. It is important to fit to the location. The internal walls glued with casein glue are fixed by temporary overlays on nails. All angles should be straight, and the bottom edge should be placed horizontally.
• In the case, which consists only of internal walls and does not have a bottom, the bottom tray is made. Its size is 10x250 mm. It starts at 50 mm from the right side of the hive. The summer on top is 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.
• In the rear wall of the hive, a hole in the form of a wedge is made along the level of the bottom. It goes into the space below the frame, which is necessary to protect against varroatosis. It is closed by a liner of a similar shape. Its size is 450x40 mm (inner side) and 450x45 mm (outer side).
• The holes of the gates help to protect against the space between the walls of the hive by small corridors based on laths. Their thickness is 10-15 mm, and the width - to the space between the walls of 20 mm.
• On the body, which has only the inner walls, parallel to the front is nailed the first layer of boards that make up the floor (their length is 635 mm). The first board protrudes forward by 10-15 mm for redistribution of the structure. On the ledge are mounted platforms for the arrival. In this case, the straightness of the angles between the bottom and the walls of the house is checked. Then, with accuracy, the boards of the first floor layer are nailed, while the wall space should not be blocked. On the first layer of the floor is put a sheet of roofing paper or cardboard, and then the bottom layer is nailed. It also blocks the space between the walls of the hive.
• On the area of the ends of the walls located from the inside (protrude 20 mm), the outer front and outer rear walls are nailed. Work begins from 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 warmed. In the first front wall, a chimney is made. In the back wall, a hole is cut into the space below the frame.
• In order for the outer walls to be stable, in the area forming the rim above the nest, the boards are nailed from the outside to the corner pads. At the ends of the rear and front walls, which protrude 20 mm beyond the limits of the side internal parts, side external parts are stuffed. Their thickness is 15 mm.
• On the inner walls of the hive around the perimeter nailed slats 40x20 mm, which overlap the space between the walls with the top.
• In the straps, which are nailed on the front and back of the device, select folds of 10x10 mm in size in order to put the frame. Planks should fit tightly to the heater in the space between the walls, and with corner splices - merge into a single line of the plane.

How to make insulation?

To insulate the space between the walls, various materials are used.

For example, when making a hive on an internal wall, it is possible to decompose an even layer of sphagnum moss and press it tightly against the outer wall. Moss is used not dried, but withered. It is inherent elasticity.

You can apply and sheets of foam. Their thickness for the above-described construction should be 22 mm. They are also placed on the inner walls.

They resort to the use of a building insulating board, as well as soft porous cardboard, whose thickness is 12 mm. Plates or cardboard are cut in the form of walls and are pressed by boards from the outside.

Use of tow, cotton wool, or wool as a heater is not recommended, as these materials do not pass air and often contain odors.

Making the roof of a hive

The hive roof should be light. The beekeeper often takes it off and puts it on. To ensure that these procedures are performed without the help of outsiders, the design should not be cumbersome.

The height of the roof strap is 120 mm. It is assembled from boards with a thickness of 15 mm. A free space is formed above the nest under the roof. Its height is 240 mm (120 mm of the rim under the nest and 120 mm of the roof tie). In this space there is a shop on the half-frame, and from above is placed a warming pillow. It is located over the nest between the sides on the canvas that covers the frames. The cushion should fit snugly.

The cushion and pillowcase are large in size compared to the interturn space of 70-100 mm. Therefore, the recommended pillowcase sizes are 750x538 mm, and the thickness after padding is 70-100 mm.

Put a pillow on the nest frames. It is laid between the sides. It contributes to the preservation of heat. This is especially important in the spring, after the first flight, when the shortage of heat becomes destructive in the north-western region, where spring bees are being built up.

Selection of material for the pillow

The best and cheapest material for the pillow is moss. But many beekeepers hold the opinion that moss as a warming is not suitable both in the pillow and in the side walls. Pillows, in their opinion, are susceptible to draft. As a result, an empty space is formed, in which it will always be seen, since the platen board also does not differ in tightness. The microclimate in the hive suffers.

Instead of moss, a variant is offered from plates or foam. Such structures are extremely warm.

The size of the board for the passage of bees is 8-10 mm. It is important that the insulation in winter is used along with ventilation. Good warming is required, as we said, in the spring.

The hive can be constructed on the basis of 12 and 14 frames. Then the index of its internal length will be 450 and 530 mm. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the dimensions of other parts.

For greater clarity in the manufacture of hives is advised to resort to the use of drawings. They will greatly facilitate your work.

Manufacture of beehives from expanded polystyrene

Each beekeeper, seeking to improve his apiary, looks for modern drawings and materials. Innovative structures include hives made of expanded polystyrene. The material has thermal conductivity and ease.

Conservative beekeepers do not trade hives from a tree for any other structure. In their opinion, there is nothing more practical than making hives from wood. But no material has absolute ideality.

Advantage of expanded polystyrene beehives

The design has a number of advantages:

• A small house with silence and strength;
• Hives are not susceptible to hypothermia or overheating;
• The hulls can be made of the same size and can be swapped;
• In the design there are few allowances;
• The hives do not allow moisture and do not crack;
• In them there are no chipped and notched;
• They are strong and comfortable;
• Easily disassemble;
• Protect insects from bad weather;
• Ensure the stability of the microclimate for bees;
• Expanded polystyrene is not susceptible to rotting;
• The walls of the shell are smooth;
• No additional insulation by canvas and cushions is required.

Also it should be noted that it is easy to make a house yourself. Its drawings are quite simple. This design is economical. But many beekeepers note that it is somewhat difficult to do this with your own hands.

Disadvantages of such structures

There are a number of disadvantages in this design:

• Internal rebate parts do not have a stronghold.
• Corps from propolis cleaned with difficulty.
• In the hives made of wood, you can disinfect by means of lamps, but here you can not do it. Chemicals are required that can be harmful to insects and disrupt the structure itself. Some beekeepers resort to washing hives with water or alkaline agents. For example, the ash of sunflower leaves is used.
• The body does not absorb moisture, it drains to the bottom of the structure.
• In bees from expanded polystyrene, the amount of food eaten by bees increases. If the bee family is strong, then it produces up to 25 kg of honey. This requires ventilation, which reduces feed intake.
• The hive is more suitable for weak families of insects.
• Because of the impossibility of regulating the flocks, the bees begin to steal honey from each other, the microclimate is disturbed. It is possible that the rodents will penetrate there.

What tools will be needed?

Manufacture of hives made of expanded polystyrene presupposes the availability of the following tools:

• Pencil or felt-tip pen;
• Self-tapping screws (5 cm and 7 cm);
• glue;
• stationery knife;
• Meter ruler made of metal;
• screwdriver;
• Grit made of plastic for finishing (for the beginning they are glued in the folds, so that when removing the frame the material is not painted).

Recommendations for manufacturing

It is important to carefully manufacture the hives with your own hands. Dimensions, drawings Must be clearly outlined. Styrofoam is frail.

There should be no gaps, as light rays can begin to penetrate between the walls of the enclosure, and insects will begin to gnaw the hole. As a result, an additional leaflet is formed.

All tools should be at hand. The clerical knife should be well sharpened.

A strong ventilation net is placed in the bottom, which corresponds to the cell size not more than 3.5 mm. The perfect choice will be the grid for tuning the car, made of their aluminum.

Stages of manufacture

For the manufacture of a structure of expanded polystyrene, a drawing is used. Everything should be pre-marked.

• The knife is taken and marked lines are observed several times while observing the right angle, until the plate is cut to the end. So the workpieces are made.
• The surfaces to be glued are coated with glue and tightly compressed. The parts are fastened by means of screws. Make fasteners with a retreat of 10 cm.

Reviews of beekeepers about structures made of expanded polystyrene

It should be noted that the reviews of experienced people in beekeeping are more likely to be negative than positive.

• According to many, the independent manufacture of such houses is difficult, because the material is constantly broken.
• When cleaning the housing, polystyrene foam is subject to destruction.
• The material is subject to rapid wear. We have to resort to sealing the slots with propolis.
• In winter, food is spoiled in such a hive.
• The bed becomes moist and covered with a layer of mold. Therefore, a grid is mandatory.
• Expanded polystyrene maintains a constant temperature.
• The design should not hit anything.
• For bees, natural material, which is a tree, is acceptable. In nature they are used to hollows. The tree is much stronger and more useful for the production of honey.
• Many complain that such lodges get a lot of light.
• They can not be colored, since the material is sensitive to the solvent.
• Disinfection of the beehive with a burner is not possible, and larvae often enter such a structure.

In European countries, the production of beehives for expanded polystyrene bees has become very popular. Beekeepers consider the choice of this material a successful decision. There has long ago departed from the use of wood, which also has its drawbacks.