Methods and features of two-uterine maintenance of bee families

The main task of beekeeping, especially in regions with a short warm period, is to increase productivity. This will be achieved by increasing the strongest family by keeping 2 queens in one hive. Is it possible to keep two uterus in one bee house and how to do it right, read below.

Why use two bees

So that bees can produce honey in excess, and not just for use in their needs (fattening the uterus and offspring), there must be a lot of them. Achieving high levels will require a family weighing 10-11 kg in total. In order for the bee swarm to reach such dimensions, two- and three-uterine content can be used. More often, a technique with 2 uterus is used, because it is not always possible to maintain the peaceful coexistence of a large number of insects.

Did you know? In a second, a honey bee makes 440 wingspan.

The basis of such techniques is the biological feature of honey insects to combine efforts to achieve a common goal, that is, ensuring the safety of uterus and brood fattening.

Advantages and disadvantages

Before you start using a particular technique, you should carefully consider its pros and cons in order to be able to properly organize work with the apiary and the insects themselves.

• The main advantages of two-uterine bees:
• a decrease in feed requirements in winter due to an increase in the number of insects per unit area and an increase in air temperature in the hive;
• improving the quality of the laying of the uterus due to high-quality heating in the winter;
• improved performance in the spring and increased insect endurance;
• a higher percentage of flying bees in two-uterine families;
• increased disease resistance.

• Among the shortcomings are:
• difficulties in constructing the hive and the need to attract an assistant;
• the difficulty of serving such families and the hive itself;
• increasing the frequency of swarming and shoots of bees.

Dual-walled technology

Pairing queen bees is an artificial technique to increase productivity. In a bee family, a monarchy is clearly designated. If a second uterus appears, the case ends with the assertion of authoritarianism, as a result of which one of the females dies, and the second is simply not able to provide brood for 2 families.

In artificially created two-uterine families, the territory between the uterus is deliberately delimited using various devices.

The first task of the beekeeper in the selection of such a methodology for keeping is to provide insects with quality housing, in which:

• they will be able to move normally;
• the uterus will not be in contact with each other;
• in the middle of summer there will be enough space for new offspring, which will prevent swarming and shoots.

Did you know? The bee family consumes 2 glasses of water per day.

In the hive beds

The main advantage is the ease of use of this design. Most often, 16-18 frames are placed in the hive and partitions are installed necessarily so that the uterus does not have the opportunity to contact. This technique is used throughout the Velsky district, where quite a lot of beekeepers and their sections allow you to place the overall structure of the hives.

Placement of bees in hives, sunbeds:

1. A large strong family is divided into 2 parts - the honeycomb, the uterus and part of the bees are left in the same zone of the hive.
2. The second part of the bees is resettled in another compartment, separated by a partition. The fetal uterus is hooked up to this part of the family and covered with a cap. As soon as the process of adaptation of the bees to the uterus is successfully completed, the cap is removed.
3. When the uterus begins to actively lay eggs, they begin to select 3 frames with a sealed brood and working bees to form layers. This will help to avoid swarming. Selected frames are replaced with wax.
4. A little later, you can begin to form a second two-uterine family by constructing a lattice partition between the compartments.
   

The method under consideration involves the mobility of the hive to ensure the possibility of its movement to entomophilous cultures. This will allow you to collect more honey.

To remove the uterus, proceed as follows:

1. Larvae are transferred to wax bowls.
2. In the hive-lounger, 20 lattices are placed, on which 2 bee families are placed without queens.
3. After this, the wooden partition is replaced by a lattice and the larvae are hooked into a compartment where there is no brood.
4. After 10 days, the uterus is returned back.

Important! For a day, a bee can lay 1000–3000 eggs, which should be taken into account when forming large bee colonies with 2 queens.

In multihull hives

This design is based on a single-case model with a store developed by S. Dadan. Breeding two-uterine families in dadans is the most acceptable and familiar scheme for most users.

The multi-hive hive is characterized by mobility and ease of disassembly / assembly.

It consists of 3 parts, including:

• housing;
• a store that is also the second building;
• stand.

It is best to place 16 frames in one case - this allows you to simplify the work with the design. In such a hive, the presence of an anti-mite mesh is assumed. The presence of the middle frame allows for full contact between the bees of both families. The ability to install additional pallets will help to avoid swarming.

Video: Two-uterine bee keeping in multihull hives

A few nuances of breeding bees in a multihull hive:

1. A part of the frames and the mother liquor are placed in an empty case, and then they cover it with a partition.
2. The housing with the uterus is placed on top. The arrival board of this department should look in the opposite direction.
3. After 5 days, the mother liquor is removed and the upper section is set to the lower, orienting the arrival boards of all compartments on one side.

Read also how to properly insulate the hive for the winter.

By Ozerov

The hive of Ozerov suggests the presence of two nesting compartments, divided in half, containing 6-7 frames. Between the nests there are separation grilles separating them from the store cases. The nests of the nests are closed throughout the summer, and the bees enter the hive through store-holes. At the heart of the case is a gasket and ventilation stand.

By the time of the main honey collection in the apiary, you need to have 4 additional buildings and 64–80 frames in stock. This will avoid swarming and ensure normal microclimate conditions in the hive itself. It is better that several frames remain unfilled with honey than the same amount was not enough to accommodate the bees.

The essence of the method is the timely selection of a closed brood and moving it to the educational building. In addition, you need to quickly have time to add additional enclosures for the organization of anti-roving broods.

Important! To ensure a quick addiction to the flyways, they should be placed at the same height parallel to each other. The optimum distance to the notch from the lower and upper edges of the walls is 20 mm.

According to Sviridov

Sviridov's method involves the use of hives, sunbeds with one entrance. The bottom line is to use one strong family and 2 queens. The hive is divided into 2 parts with the help of a lattice partition, which allows insects to contact.

The uterus is hooked up to a part of the family, initially covering it with a cap; after 5 days, the cap is removed. In a short time with this method, it is possible to get 16 frames with brood. They are gradually cleaned, taking off daily 2 each along with serving bees, and form layers that prevent swarming.

Recommendations of beekeepers for two-uterine breeding

Some useful recommendations from leading beekeepers:

1. In order for the bees to quickly build up their physical strength after winter, after the first flyby they need to start feeding them with sugar syrup and pollen. Feeding with the addition of a solution of “Timol” will be effective - this will protect the bee colonies from the spread of the varroa tick, and also help to increase their immunity after wintering. Dosage per beehive 2.5 g of substance.
2. In uterine-free layers located in the upper sections, hook the uterus 60 days before the main honey bribe.
3. In order to train insects to use one taphole, leave only a specific entrance open, and close the rest. You can also treat the open summer with the juice of lemon balm, mint and basil. These smells attract bees.
4. Add new hulls every 10-12 days, slightly changing the localization of the insects themselves, constructing new layering and moving part of the working bees with brood into them.
5. A month before the main bribe, stop carrying out all the manipulations so that families can adapt and direct all efforts to a common cause.
6. It is advisable not to leave two-uterine families for the winter in one hive. It is better to reorganize them into ordinary families immediately after the main honey bribe.

Important! The uterus in the hive should always be separate from each other.

So, today many leading beekeepers successfully use farming techniques with several queen bees. However, before organizing the two-uterine bee keeping, you need to weigh all the pros and cons of various techniques, as well as evaluate your capabilities in organizing the necessary conditions.