Outwardly, all bees are similar, but in fact there is a strict classification of these insects. Breeds of bees with descriptions and photos will help not only to distinguish between these beneficial insects, but also learn how to choose the right species depending on the climatic conditions of the region.

How to choose bees

Bees are hymenoptera and are used to produce honey and other products. The homeland of insects is considered South Asia, and from there these insects spread throughout the world.

A characteristic feature of this species is living in families consisting of a queen, several tens of thousands of workers and several hundred (or thousands, in large families) drones. It is noteworthy that in summer time the number of worker bees increases, and in winter it decreases significantly.

Note: The only full-fledged female in the family is the uterus, which in warm time lays eggs for years. Drones, working individuals, and new queens are subsequently hatched from them. Interestingly, the life expectancy of the queen directly depends on the number of worker bees in the colony. If there are only a few, the queen will live no more than three days, and in large families, one queen can live up to five years.

As a rule, after two or three years, the egg production of the uterus decreases sharply, so it is replaced by a younger individual. A productive uterus lays up to 2.5 thousand eggs per day, and during the season this figure can grow to 200 thousand.

The uterus almost never flies out of the hive. An exception can only be the period of swarming and mating. In addition, if a queen from one family meets another, a fight will certainly start between the insects, and the stronger and more dexterous representative will win.

A characteristic biological feature is the ability to reproduce not only within the family, but also with other families. This process is called swarming.

Worker bees are only females, which, due to underdeveloped genital organs, cannot mate and lay eggs. It is these females who perform all the work in the hive: they collect nectar and pollen, produce honey, build combs, feed the larvae and the queen, and also guard the hive and monitor the optimal temperature regime in it. AT vivo working individuals independently replace the old queen with a young one.

Note: Sometimes, if the family does not have a queen for a long time, some worker insects may begin to lay eggs. But since they are not fertilized, only drones are hatched from them.

The life expectancy of worker bees depends on the time of their breeding: summer bees live no more than 45 days, and autumn ones - up to 10 months. In addition, they are divided into two groups. Non-flying (young) are almost constantly in the hive, and fly out of it only at good weather. The flightmen are responsible for collecting pollen and nectar.

Figure 1. Visual differences between insects and classification of worker bees

Drones are males whose sole function is to fertilize the uterus. That is why they have well-developed genitals, but there are no organs for collecting pollen and excreting wax. Each family has several hundred or even thousands of drones, although the queen mates with only a few (usually 6-10 individuals). Sexual maturity occurs in drones at the age of 8-14 days, and after that they can not only mate, but also leave the hive, flying away from it for a distance of several kilometers. Figure 1 shows the main visual differences between the queen, workers and drones.

Note: Drones live only in the summer, as the worker bees drive them out of the hive in the fall. Sometimes, if there is no queen in the family, some drones remain in the hive for the winter.

Interestingly, all insects go through the same stages of development, but they differ in duration depending on the type of insect:

• In the first stage, the "egg", all insects develop in the same way: three days;
• The second stage, "larva to seal" lasts 5 days for the queen, 6 days for worker bees, and 7 days for drones;
• The last stage of development, "larva and pupa in a sealed cell", lasts 8 days for the queen, 12 for workers, and 14 for drones.

Accordingly, the development cycle of an adult insect is: 16 days for the queen, 21 days for workers, and 24 days for drones.

These are quite hardy insects. They can carry cargo by air, the mass of which corresponds to half the weight of the individual itself, and are capable of speeds up to 60 km / h. In addition, they have developed vision. They have five eyes (two on the sides and three on the crown) that distinguish objects by shape and color. Insects have a well-developed sense of smell, which allows not only to distinguish flowers, but also to find the location of the hive. If the bees sense danger, they may sting. Single bites are not dangerous, but multiple bites can cause severe allergies. That is why beekeepers use special protective clothing when working.

What to pay attention to

There are four main types of these insects: giant, dwarf, Indian and honey. In household plots, only the latter type is bred, since it is he who produces honey.

When selecting bees for breeding, several factors should be taken into account.:

• Climate: Most insects are adapted only to certain temperature living conditions. For example, Central Russians tolerate cold very well, while Italians tolerate hot climates;
• Productivity: the ability of the uterus to lay maximum amount eggs directly affects the safety of the family;
• Nectar collection and honey production: Anatomically, some insects have longer proboscises that allow them to collect nectar from more plants.

Figure 2. The most productive species: 1a and 1b - Italian, 2a and 2b - Ukrainian steppe

You should also take into account the tendency of insects to swarm, since during this period their honey production decreases. The Italian and Ukrainian steppe are considered optimal for breeding (Figure 2). Such species are highly productive and calm in nature, but require additional care in winter time and protection from disease.

In addition, there are many breeds, each of which has its own distinctive features.

Peculiarities

Insects are not bred artificially, and only those types that are characteristic of a given climatic zone and have already managed to adapt to living conditions are grown for breeding.

Figure 3. Representatives of the breeds: 1 - Central Russian, 2 - gray mountain Caucasian, 3 - yellow Caucasian, 4 - Ukrainian steppe (womb)

For our country, such species are considered the best(picture 3):

• Central Russian: rather large insects of dark gray color. The uterus is highly productive, and the honey-bearing capacity is average. During the season, no more than 30 kg of honey can be collected from one family. Representatives of the species are conservative in nature, and it is difficult to switch to new honey-bearing areas. In addition, they are quite aggressive, but have a high resistance to cold and disease.
• Gray Mountain Caucasian smaller and lighter than the average Russian. In addition, the uterus is not distinguished by high fecundity, and working individuals are not characterized by honey production. No more than 29 kg of honey can be collected from one family per season. However, these shortcomings are fully compensated by the advantages: they productively use poor sources of honey collection, easily switch to new areas, have a peaceful character, and thanks to their long proboscis, they can collect nectar from a much larger number of plants than representatives of other species. In addition, they are weakly amenable to swarming (no more than 5% of individuals from the family), therefore, in the summer, the fecundity of insects practically does not decrease. However, they are very sensitive to cold and putrefactive diseases. Nevertheless, it was she who became widespread not only in Russia, but also abroad.
• yellow caucasian corresponds in size to the gray mountain, but slightly exceeds it in fertility. Insects are gray with bright yellow stripes. Quite peaceful, they are distinguished by medium roiling, they tolerate a hot and dry climate well, but they can attack other families and are sensitive to diseases. AT this moment the yellow Caucasian is gradually absorbed by the gray mountain.
• Ukrainian steppe transformed from the Central Russian, adapting to the southern living conditions. Representatives are smaller in size than the Central Russian ones, but they also have a much longer proboscis, which has a positive effect on productivity. In addition, Ukrainian steppe species are distinguished by high honey production (up to 40 kg per family per season), resistance to temperature extremes and diseases.
• Carpathian in many ways similar to the Ukrainian steppe. The only difference between the insects is that the Carpathians have a much longer proboscis. They are distinguished by medium swarming and winter hardiness and an exceptionally peaceful character (Figure 4).
• Representatives Italian breed they correspond in size to the Central Russian ones, but significantly exceed them in fertility. Distinctive feature is a golden color with bright yellow stripes. They have a peaceful character, very well use the most different types plants for collecting nectar, but do not have sufficient resistance to cold and disease.
• Krainskaya was imported from Austria. They are gray in color with a silver tint. Fertility is average, but insects are characterized by rapid spring development. Excellent use of various sources of honey collection, but resistance to cold and disease is average.
• Far Eastern formed in the process of mutation of insect representatives of several species. Due to this, they are distinguished by their small size, gray color and low fecundity. Despite a high tendency to roaming, insects are peaceful in nature, and can use the earliest plants to produce honey.

Figure 4. Breeds: 1 - Carpathian, 2 - Krajina, 3 - Italian, 4 - Far Eastern

When selecting insects for breeding, be sure to consider climatic features region, as most species are very sensitive to cold and require additional care in winter. More detailed information about the most popular in the world, the Italian breed, is shown in the video.

Rules

Finding a purebred bee, unfortunately, is quite difficult, since so-called hybrids are bred in most apiaries. But, if you have clearly set yourself the goal of choosing the best breed according to the photo and description, we recommend that you use some useful tips.

Among the main selection rules are:

• Appearance assessment: each breed is formed under the influence of certain climatic conditions, so insects of different species radically differ from each other in appearance and size.
• The climatic conditions in which the apiary will be located also play an important, and sometimes decisive role. For example, Italians can be bred in warm climates, but they are not suitable for temperate and cold climates, as they do not differ in winter hardiness.
• The peacefulness of the nature of insects is an important criterion for beginner beekeepers. For example, representatives of the Caucasian will bring honey even if the beekeeper accidentally damages their nest, and the Central Russians have a rather aggressive character.

To make it easier for you to choose a breed for your apiary, here are the names, photos and descriptions of the most popular species.

How to determine the breed of bees: video

You can learn to identify the breeds of bees with the help of a video. Its author talks about the features of certain types of insects and the criteria by which they can be distinguished.

The breed of karnika bees and their characteristics

The description of karnik bees, first of all, concerns subspecies or strains. There are four of them: karnika, Italian, Caucasian and dark forest.

Regardless of the strain, all insects of this species are characterized by high productivity and low feed consumption, so they tolerate winter well even in lean years.

Insects are gray, with small patches of yellow, the body is short and covered with numerous villi, which make the insects look hairy.

Characteristics of karnik bees include such indicators(picture 5):

• High productivity allows you to get honey even from a weak bribe;
• The peaceful nature allows the beekeeper to work with insects even without protective clothing;
• Economical consumption of feed increases survival in winter, and the family will collect honey even in the absence of a queen.

Figure 5. Features of karnik bees

Among the shortcomings, one can single out the late emergence of brood, especially in conditions of warm and long autumn, as well as low productivity during the second harvest. This feature is due to the fact that the bees spend almost all their energy on the first nectar.

Buckfast bee breed and their characteristics

The description of the breed of Buckfast bees and their characteristics will help to objectively evaluate all the pros and cons of the species, and decide whether it is worth breeding such insects in the apiary.

Firstly, it should be borne in mind that the breed was bred by breeders, and it is based on italian bees therefore, all subspecies of Buckfasts have a characteristic yellow color. Despite the constituent hybrids, all insects of this species have some common features (Figure 6):

• Insects practically do not swarm, but at the same time they bring a fairly large amount of brood. Moreover, family growth is not recommended to be limited, as this may adversely affect the honey flow.
• Insects collect little propolis, since an Egyptian breed was used to create the hybrid;
• They are distinguished by a calm character and do not show aggression when the beekeeper works with the hive.

Figure 6 External characteristics Buckfast bees

In addition, the uterus of this breed is characterized by high fertility, and the insects themselves have excellent endurance, so in most cases they tolerate wintering well. However, these insects are not suitable for the northern regions due to insufficiently high frost resistance.

Carpathian bee: description

The Carpathian bee, or Carpathian, stands out among other breeds with an early departure, that is, insects begin to collect nectar much earlier than other species. In addition, honey collected by representatives of the Caucasian species contains little sugar, and the insects themselves tolerate wintering well (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Carpathian breed

Among the advantages of the Carpathians, one can single out a peaceful nature and high productivity. In addition, they tolerate winter well, practically do not swarm and get sick little. But their winter hardiness is low, so the Carpathian breed is not recommended to be bred in the northern regions.

Central Russian breed: characteristics

Central Russian bees are considered one of the largest. They have a dark gray body color without yellowness (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Features of Central Russian bees

They have high productivity, resistance to cold and diseases. However, insects are quite aggressive in nature, and protective clothing must be worn when working with them. This breed is recommended to be bred in the northern regions, since in the south they swarm strongly and significantly reduce productivity.

caucasian breed

The Caucasian breed includes many subspecies, which, although they have some differences, still have some common features (Figure 9).

Note: The variety of subspecies is explained by the fact that they were formed in different climatic conditions. For example, Caucasian valleys can collect honey even in extreme heat, and alpine - when the temperature drops to +6 degrees.

A distinctive feature of the breed is the high flight duration. Bees fly out of the hive early in the morning and return late in the evening, which allows you to collect a fairly large amount of honey. In addition, the nectar collection period lasts from early spring to late autumn, which allows us to consider the breed one of the most productive.

Figure 9 External Features Caucasian bees

Also, Caucasian bees easily adapt to different weather conditions and produce a lot of propolis, which is used to insulate nests for the winter. Despite these features, insects do not tolerate wintering well, so the main task of the beekeeper is to properly prepare the hives and provide the insects with enough food. In addition, they often get sick and are very sensitive to dampness.

Italian breed: photo

A characteristic feature of Italian bees is their unusual bright yellow body color, by which they can be easily distinguished from the rest (Figure 10). Queens are highly fertile, and insects have high disease resistance and a fairly peaceful character.

Figure 10. What the Italian breed looks like

They are distinguished by high productivity, and during the period of honey collection they easily switch from plants that contain less nectar to those where it is possible to harvest a more abundant crop. Insects produce a lot of wax, but they do not tolerate wintering well due to their low resistance to cold. That is why Italian bees are recommended to breed only in the southern regions.

A unique natural product created by bees is called honey. How do bees make honey, why is there linden, buckwheat, meadow honey? How does a beekeeper teach her to choose a single plant species from herbs and carry only its pollen? How to get a viscous mass from micron balls of pollen healing properties? Let's try to reveal the secret of getting honey.

Their common home is a hive

The usual family name for bees is conditional. This is some kind of higher organization. The mother bee is not a mother to anyone. Her activity lies in laying eggs, having once mated with many drones in a mating flight. And before that, bees fed her from the larvae. Drones are also fed by bees for their entire short life. The life of a bee depends on the condition of the wings. With intensive summer work, they become unusable in a month, and the bee dies, and the autumn bees hibernate and carry the first bribe in the spring.

The worker bee begins to work from the moment of birth:

• 3 days are engaged in cleaning in combs, cleaning them after leaving;
• 4-6 days they feed the larvae with honey and pollen, fly around the hive;
• 7-11 days in the bees, queen milk appears in the glands, they feed the uterus and queen larvae, which develop in several cells of honeycombs;
• 12-17 days wax glands appear, and the bees turn into honeycomb builders, at the same time they guard the hive, take nectar and maintain the microclimate;
• from the 18th day until the end of life during the honey harvest, the bee flies out of the hive for raw materials for honey, bee food.

The community of bees is subject to the laws of a single organism. To survive, the family needs a food product. Bees carry pollen from flowering plants, process it into honey, and store it in wax honeycombs. Scientists have studied how bees make honey from pollen and nectar.

In its flight, the bee is guided by time, smell, color of the hive. She flies to the flowers at the time of their opening. If the hive was repainted in the absence of the worker, she searches for it by smell, but uncertainly. Therefore, in the apiary, the beehives are painted in different colors.

Honey production technology

Before you start collecting honey, you need to get containers for storing the product. A wax hexagonal honeycomb is always created in a hive or wild board, a perfect design that allows maximum use of volume. They are built by bees. In this case, the cells are not all the same, they are divided:

• queen cells, where queens are fed;
• transitional, larvae grow there;
• drones - rebuilt by worker bees and queens;
• bee - a place of storage of honey.

Why do bees need honey? The brood needs to be fed and everyone who works to prolong the life of the family needs to stock up on food for the winter.

So, the scout bee found a flowering meadow and flew to the hive, gathering a team for a honey collection. The worker bee is a pollen and nectar collector. Bees begin to make honey as soon as pollen and nectar fall into a special goiter. There are also enzymes that break down sugar.

Simultaneously with nectar, the bee collects pollen with shaggy legs, pollinating the plant. The pollen ball is hidden in a basket on the leg, bee bread will be prepared from it. In the food warehouse, bee bread is stored separately from honey.

In order to fill the goiter, the bee needs to collect tribute from one and a half thousand flowers. Having loaded 70 mg into the goiter, the bee flies low, overcoming the distance to the hive. If the hive stands in the middle of honey plants, fly no more than 2 km, the contents of the crop are delivered to the hive. If further - part of the product is absorbed by the bee to replenish energy. Therefore, apiaries are mobile, they move to where there are many flowers.

The worker bees look after the queen, feed it and brush it. For some unknown reason, they can suffocate the uterus in their arms, taking her into a tight, shrinking ball. Sometimes the beekeeper finds a sting in the corpse, the uterus was killed by her servants, workers, children.

If you are interested in how bees make honey, watch the video:

The bee transfers honey to the hive and flies away for a new bribe. At the same time, the worker from the hive takes a drop of the brought product several times, draws it into the goiter and releases it, she adds invertase from her goiter, continuing the fermentation of the nectar. The product is then dried to remove excess moisture. It is laid out in a thin layer along the bottom and walls of the cells and the moisture is allowed to evaporate. The buzzing of bees in front of the hive and inside it is the work of wings, ventilation of the hive. Dried up to a moisture content of 21%, honey is folded into the upper honeycomb and sealed with a wax cap. From the moment the bribe enters the hive to the ripening of honey, 10 days pass.

How much honey a bee collects depends on many factors. In bad weather, bees do not fly. If the apiary is far away, the bee can make only one notch and spend a quarter of the bribe expensively on itself. Healthy family during the summer he collects up to 150 kg of honey, half of which goes to support the life of the family. How hard it is for working women to get a sweet product, dry figures say. One foraging bee makes 400 sorties in a lifetime, flies about 800 km. For 1 g of honey, you need to make 75 sorties. One in a lifetime can bring 5 g of honey, a spoon. A kilogram of honey is collected by the joint efforts of 200 bees. A family can have up to 50,000 individuals. The end result depends on weather conditions, availability of honey plants and family health.

The worker bee has a much larger brain than the queen bee and the drone.

Tricks of beekeepers

There are up to 20 varieties of honey on the shelves, even from pine resin, which is not very clear. Resin - resin and a bee, tying a proboscis, will die. How do bees collect honey only from fireweed, when there are forbs around? From ancient times, insects were taught to collect only lime or buckwheat honey, feeding worker bees with this product before flying to work. Well-fed bees pollinate the desired field ten times more efficiently, selectively collect the healing product.

How honey appears in the hives - video

All about bees - up-to-date information about excellent pollinators and hard-working nectar collectors. These amazing insects easily find their way home, and their family is distinguished by a complex organization and distribution of roles.

General characteristics of bees

About 21 thousand species and 520 genera of insects live in the world. They are distributed on the territories of all continents with the exception of Antarctica. Insects eat nectar and pollen. Nectar mainly acts as a source of energy, while pollen is used as a protein supplement and a storehouse of other nutrients.

Bees have long proboscises used for nectar extraction and antennae: 13-segment in males and 12-segment in females. Among males there are individuals with 11/12-segmented antennae and 12-segmented ones. So, for example, in some representatives of the genus Systropha, the antennae can be either 11 or 12 segmented, and in some male individuals of the subgenera from the genus Cuckoos - Pasites (Pasites) and Biastes (Biastes) - only 12- tic-membered. The body length ranges from 0.21 to 3.9 cm.

The largest is Megachile pluto, which lives in Indonesia. She is in the center of the photo.

Description of the worker bee

The worker has a small head, elongated towards the bottom. On the head there is a pair of large (faceted), located on the sides, and a trio of simple eyes in the center a little higher. Compound eyes provide near visibility, and simple eyes provide far vision. Eleven-segmented antennae are located in the middle part of the head, performing the function of organs of touch and charm. At the bottom of the head is a proboscis used to collect nectar and pollen. The upper jaws (mandibles) are small and are used for kneading wax and processing other building materials.

The neck, sinewy and muscular, connects the head to the chest. The legs and wings of an insect are attached to it. Inside the neck are three pairs of spiracles united in respiratory system. The breast is divided into three ring-shaped sectors, on which three pairs of legs are located. The limbs are used for better fixation on flowers, for cleaning the body after collecting and transferring pollen, and in a number of construction works.

Between the third and second segments of the legs are wings, which provide an increase in speed and increase the carrying capacity of the insect. The maximum flight speed without wind resistance and load can be 65 km / h. The wings themselves are a collection of small sections of thin chitin.

The abdomen is mobile and contains the most important vital organs of the insect: the heart, dorsal and abdominal diaphragm and tracheal tubes. It connects to the thoracic region with a thin stalk. In adulthood, it is a seven-segment section, the last two pairs of which are intended for wax accumulation. Its weight is 100 g.

The difference between hive and field worker bees

The class of workers is divided into two types:

• beehive
• field.

Subclasses of an individual are distinguished as follows:

The temperature of the nest is a very important parameter that determines the future profession of a worker who is in a chrysalis state. To maintain appropriate temperatures in the hive, there is a subclass of stove bees. The maximum maintained temperature of one insect is 44°C, and the productivity is up to 70 pupae.

Depending on the bee family, "stoves" can be from one to several hundred pieces.

worker bee instincts

The behavior of hive workers is regulated by simple, complex and conditional instincts (reflexes). Simple instincts include:

• airing the hive during hot and dry periods for conditioning and preventing overheating;
• cleaning the home from waste products and bodies of dead family members;
• response to exposure to smoke during processing.

Under the influence of complex reflexes, workers collect honey and accumulate it in large quantities to feed the young, build new combs for storing provisions and rearing brood, and also protect the nesting site from attacks from other insects and bumblebees.

Conditioned reflexes are used for orientation during flights for nectar and building materials, as well as for communication between family groups, for example, for transmitting data about a large flower meadow.

On the basis of conditioned reflexes, the scientist compiler A.F. Gubin wrote a report in which he described the developed method of training to enhance the flight of insects over long distances.

Facts about bees are something every beekeeper, from beginner to professional, needs to know. Check out the most significant of the 100 interesting facts:

1. Insects live for about 50 million years and differ from other species in increased activity and diligence.
2. The smoke used by the beekeepers simulates a fire, as a result, the insects start to work the instinct of self-preservation, in which the insects actively collect nectar in the abdomen to eat on the road. With a full abdomen, the insect is not able to use the sting.
3. To obtain one spoonful (30 g) of honey delicacy, 200 individuals collect nectar, and the same number of individuals receive and process it in the nesting area. The process itself takes a whole day.
4. To fix the cells for storing provisions, they secrete 1 g of wax.
5. When a food source, honey plant or at a short distance is found, the scout or their group returns to the nest and performs a “circular” dance. At a more distant location (from 2 km) of the pollen-bearer, a “waggling dance” is performed.
6. 1 kg of nectar is obtained by collecting nectar from 6-10 million flowers - about 4500 flights per day. The average daily productivity of a strong family is from 5 to 10 kg of sweet treat or 10-20 kg of nectar.
7. Insects have a phenomenal memory, they can fly away from the nest for 8 km and return back without ever going astray. However, they do not fly that far, since such flights are inefficient in terms of collecting provisions, and endanger their lives. Basically, the flight is limited to a 2 km zone from the nest, examining a large area of ​​about 12 hectares.
8. The weight of a bee swarm is from 7 to 8 kg and has about 50-60 thousand individuals, which store 3 kg of nectar in special cells. In case of bad weather, such a supply will last the family for 8 days.
9. One honeycomb is a storage for 18 pieces, the total weight of which is from 140 to 180 mg. The obnozhka consists of 100 thousand dust particles. The daily norm of pollen brought by insects is 400 pieces - an average of up to 30 kg of pollen for the period from May to September.
10. About 25-30% of flying individuals of the family are involved in the process of collecting pollen, bringing 200-350 g of pollen every day, and sometimes up to 2 kg.
11. From most plants, the insect collects nectar, which it feeds on along with pollen, but there are exceptions, for example, hazel, poppy, dog rose and lupine. Pollen is collected from such plants only.
12. Most plants are endowed with nectar, which contains sucrose, glucose and fructose in an unequal ratio (depending on the plant). A high concentration of glucose in the nectar contributes to a faster crystallization of the finished product, and vice versa for glucose.
13. If the weight of the hive is 3 kg, then 40-50% of hive insects are involved in the collection of nectar, bringing from 0.4 to 0.5 kg of nectar per flight.
14. A strong family weighing 5 kg uses 60% of the total number of individuals to collect nectar. By limiting the process of laying eggs by the queen during the period of the main flow, the number of insects involved in the assembly work will be increased to 70%.
15. Moving on an uneven surface, the carrying capacity of an insect increases by 320 times.
16. The death of most insects occurs in winter in nesting. Some individuals at the end of summer, anticipating the approaching death, fly away from the nest and die in the wild.
17. Insects in a swarm usually do not use a stinger, so you should not use smoke often when gathering and planting a swarm.
18. The queen bee does not attack people, even if she is physically harmed. However, when meeting with another uterus, without slowing down, he enters the battle using a sting.
19. For feeding 1 thousand larvae, 0.1 kg of nectar, 0.05 kg of pollen and 30 g of water are consumed. The annual consumption of pollen by one family is about 30 kg.
20. Insects have well-developed instincts, so they are subject to the main processes of life.

How to escape from bees flying into your territory?

To escape from insects and protect the site from their encroachment is quite simple, so follow these steps:

1. A blind fence 2-3 m high is installed around the site.
2. Melissa or mint is planted around the perimeter of the plot. Plants have a strong and spicy aroma that is unpleasant to insects.
3. They install special traps made of plastic in bright colors on trees or under the roof of the house.

The above actions are a set of protective measures against insects. Each of them can be performed separately.

There are situations when insects form nests under the roof of houses or in the building itself (inter-wall space). In such cases, they turn to specialists in beekeeping. When a nest is found between the walls, together with an experienced beekeeper, they open the wall and remove the combs with larvae.

Concreting and sealing the nest is strictly prohibited, as such actions will provoke aggression in insects, forcing them to look for new ways to get out.

Sometimes in the neighborhood there may be earth-type insects that live in minks underground. To protect against this type of insect, the following actions are performed:

1. Take 5 liters boiled water and gradually poured into the mink.
2. Repeat the same action a few more times.

Water is mainly poured in the evening, when all individuals return from the fields and begin to rest. With daytime processing, there is a risk of being repeatedly stung by fierce defenders of the nest.

Bees will always find their way home. How do they do it?

Insects have an excellent memory and a complex five-segment visual system, thanks to which they see the surrounding space in the form of separate fragments. Such perception helps them remember the landscape while flying for food sources. Location information is stored for 5 days.

Insects have an innate ability to navigate the terrain. It wakes up with the first flight and is corrected with each new flight. They use the following objects as reference points:

• Landscape or natural compass.

Insects from the very beginning remember the landscape surrounding their nesting site. With growing up and gaining experience in flying, the frequency of returning home increases. At the same time, the distance that insects fly away increases, as well as the number of individuals returning to the nest.

Insects remember well the features of the terrain (mountains, reservoirs, fields, etc.) that they flew over in search of nectar or building materials. Objects are memorized by insects and subsequently identified by the visual organ.

• Sun.

It is the main landmark of insects. Orientation of insects is also carried out based on the position of the sun and the polarization of light. The adaptive process on the ground is highly accurate, because thanks to a unique visual system, they can see not only in daylight, but also in the dark.

Insects fly at a certain angle relative to the sun, and their eyes control the amount of light that falls on the lens. Regardless of the difference between the starting and ending points of the route, the eyes of insects accurately determine the position of the sun and fix the objects illuminated by it. The combination of adaptive ability and excellent memory contributes to an efficient and easy return to the nesting site.

How do insects find their way home in bad weather? The answer is simple: if the sun is absent on the horizon, and it is cloudy in the yard, then the insect is guided by fluctuations in the plane of polarization of light.

• Smell.

Communication between individuals is carried out using complex system based on biological features, a specific way of transmitting information, as well as the individual features of objects: smells, shapes and colors. Basically, when collecting nectar, insects are guided by the smell emanating from the scouts, and they get to the honey plant using it.

The organs of smell in insects are located on the antennae and have a small pitted structure, which is covered with porous plates. They connect with sensitive nerve cells that perceive odors and transmit a signal to the brain. Insects perceive the smells of objects by the so-called contact method, that is, they feel them with their antennae.

Bees are able to identify members of their family by the specific smell secreted by the nasonic glands, which are located between the 5th and 6th segment of the lower abdomen. Each family has its own unique and individual scent.

Transfer of information

Insects have a very unusual, but at the same time very curious way of transmission, depicted as rhythmic movements that resemble a dance. It is typical for scouts or their groups. After finding a flowering field, the scout returns to the nest and starts dancing, agitating the rest of the insects to fly to the source. The dance begins with a wagging of the lower part of the abdomen from side to side, which is accompanied by an increase in the activity of movements, depending on the proximity of the honey plant. During the dance, the scout steps several times in a certain direction in a straight line, and then turns sharply to the side and begins to repeat the dance for 20 times.

The higher the activity of belly wagging, the closer the honey collection is from the nest. The wobbling direction indicates the location of the source.

When the darkness reigns in the nest, a contact identification method is used. At the moment of the scout's dance, the insects that are in the hive touch the dancer's antennae and receive information about the movements, and then repeat them. After several repetitions, the workers go to the place where the nectar is collected. The distance to the place is determined by the rhythm of the dance and the timing of the figures. The beginning and end of the figure of the dancer is registered by the buzzing of the wings.

Basically, the location of the honey collection area is indicated by the sun. When the site is in the direction of the sun, the movements of the dance will be along the trajectory from top to bottom, but if it is in the direction from the sun, then the movements will be performed in the reverse order. With other directions, the dancer will turn in the corresponding direction.

Video: 10 amazing facts about bees

Classification

The modern classification is a multi-family structure consisting of many genera and species. In it, sphecoid wasps, which have some similarity with them, are combined into one group with bees.

№	Compound	Preparation and application
1	A glass of bee product, three teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.	Mix and let it brew, take before going to bed. Boosts immunity/
2	Bee product, 25 ml of sorrel juice, water.	Mix and consume several times a day. All this will help cure anemia at home.
3	Bee product, aloe juice.	Mix one to one, apply to the skin several times a day, cure anemia.
4	A glass of beet juice and 2 glasses of bee products.	Helps with cholecystitis.
5	A liter of water, 50 grams of a sweet product, half a kilogram of sugar, half an onion.	It will help with cholecystitis, a course of three weeks.

Photo gallery of bees

Carpenters are large black insects with a small layer of fur covering the entire body, some individuals may have a blue metallic tint on the head and chest. The body length is from 2 to 3 cm and depends on the subspecies of the insect. They are considered solitary insects and are distinguished from others by their bright blue wings.

Organization of bees

Representatives of the bee section are highly organized insects. So, for example, insects belonging to the social class fly together in search of forage meadows, building materials and other necessary things. The construction of a dwelling and its protection from common enemies also have a group character. Honeycombs are erected in the nest, care for the young and the uterus is carried out.

Social and semi-social bees

Insects are able to live alone, regardless of other individuals, but they can also unite in social formations - colonies. Colonies are mainly formed by melliferous and stingless individuals, as well as by most bumblebees. The social nature of insects has undergone multiple evolution, and in the absence of dependence on each other among different groups.

In some species, females belonging to the same group are sisters to each other. In many colonies there is a system with a clear distribution of labor, then they are called semi-public. In social families, in addition to the division of labor, there is a social hierarchical system, where the highest link is the uterus - the queen, the middle - males and females, and the lowest - working insects that get food. If there is a division solely within the framework of behavior, the structure is called a primitive social group. With morphological differences in caste layers (family links), the group is highly social.

There are quite a lot of insects with a primitive social system, but so far there is little information about them. They mainly belong to the halictid family.

Families of insects are small. The workers are few in number, and their largest group consists of 12 individuals. The uterus and workers differ only in their dimensions. During wintering, only fertilized females survive. The life cycle of a colony in these insects is 1 year, however, in some it is several years (the number of individuals is much higher). Some representatives of the genus Euglossins (Euglossin) have a similar biology.

Specific interaction of older individuals with young animals is observed in certain varieties of insects belonging to the tribe Allodapini (Allodapini). To a greater extent, it concerns the way of feeding the younger generation. In families, nectar is dosed as the larvae develop. A similar organization of nutrition is characteristic of honey insects and some bumblebees.

solitary bees

Other insects:

• alfalfa leaf-cutting bee (Megachile rotundata);

• Osmia lignaria;

Solitary insects are excellent pollinators. In the process of departures, they collect pollen and nectar, and in the nesting place they mix them and feed them with the resulting mass of larvae. Most insects are wild, and only a few varieties are grown for further use in the pollination of agricultural products. They are very selective in their food and tend to collect nectar and pollen from a limited list of plants.

Sometimes certain insects are interconnected with specific plants, that is, one species pollinates one plant. Accordingly, the death of individuals of this species endangers the life of the plant.

Nests of solitary insects are found in underground rodent burrows, sometimes in tree hollows or blackberry bushes. During laying, the queen builds an individual cell (comb) for each egg, places it there, pours a little mixture of nectar and pollen, and then seals it. The number of cells in the nest is different, there may be either 1 or 30 cells. When organizing a nest in a hollow, there are honeycombs with eggs of males near the exit. After laying, the uterus ceases to take care of the offspring. As a rule, queens die after creating several nests.

Some insects have a primitive social structure. Their queens build nests near the nests of families that belong to the same species. Separate varieties of single insects live according to the so-called "communal" principle, that is, different queens lay their eggs in the same nest and jointly care for the young, each of them replenishes the individual feeding cells belonging to its family. The main advantage of such an organization is the alternate protection of nesting sites. Carpenters live according to a similar principle, only the queens of the genus immediately after laying go to the entrance to the nest and stand on its defense until the first adults hatch.

Organization of the honey bee family

In the families of honey insects there is a pronounced social system and a clear system of division of labor. A conditional factor that determines the functions of a particular individual is its biological age (up to 9 months) before the end of wintering.

Workers also have another age - life expectancy at the time of the bribe, which is 30-35 days. It is he who is used to indicate the stages of life and development of insects.

The first to hatch are the workers, who immediately after birth begin to feed the queen with larvae with royal jelly. At the age of 7 to 10 days, their wax gland becomes active and wax begins to be released. During this period, individual individuals retrain and begin to equip or supplement the nest. With the beginning of spring, there is an active construction of honeycombs white color. By the 15th day of life, the productivity of the wax glands decreases, and the transition of insects to caring for the nest, that is, work is done to clean the combs and clean the nest. On the 20th day, some insects begin to ventilate the nest to maintain the optimum temperature. From the 22nd to the 25th day of life, an active collection of nectar and pollen takes place. After 30 days, the insects collect water.

There are situations when cuckoos remain in the nest, but only if it belongs to owners belonging to public type. In such cases, eggs are not thrown, but laid, the former queen is replaced or killed.

honey bees

The bee family is a kind of biological unit. Each of them has individual qualities and inherent hereditary features.

Honey insects live in large families consisting of a uterus, an army of thousands of workers, and closer to summer, male and female individuals that participate in the reproduction process. None of the castes can function separately from each other, since there is a close relationship between them. The only survivors after wintering are fertilized females, which create new families.

The main species of honey insects are:

• Central Russian;
• Caucasian;
• Carpathian;
• Krajina;
• Ukrainian.

Large insects with a dark green color and no yellowness and a long proboscis from 0.059 to 0.064 cm. They are very hardy and hardworking, with high efficiency. They differ from others in the duration of wintering and low food consumption (1.0-1.2 kg per street) during the period. Easily adapt to different temperature and can collect nectar in the range from +12 to +37°C. They are quite aggressive and, if neglected, can sting.

caucasian breed

Miniature, with a long proboscis up to 0.075 cm. The average productivity of the uterus is 2 thousand eggs per day. They have good cold resistance, so they collect nectar until the beginning of September. They are slightly aggressive and do not attack even when examining the hive.

Carpathian breed

Krajina breed

Insects with a gray color that shimmers in silver. The abdominal segments are black with a grayish ring around each of them and a small white down. Closer to the Danube, the color acquires notes Brown color, and near the Adriatic they have yellow stripes. They are of medium size and stand between the Central Russian and Caucasian breeds. The uterus is large and prolific - 200 thousand eggs per day. Insects develop actively in early spring. Distribute food for its economical use during wintering. They are distinguished by high honey productivity and are able to collect nectar at an altitude of up to 1.5 km.

Ukrainian breed

The color of the insects is gray, like the Central Russian breed, but it is slightly lighter and more yellow. The wingspan is slightly larger, and the legs are longer. The proboscis is relatively long, from 0.0634 to 0.0663 cm. This length allows you to collect nectar from clover flowers, which are most preferred.

The uterus of the Ukrainian breed is distinguished by a red color with pronounced black stripes along the abdomen. She is very hardworking and lays from 1.95 to 2.3 thousand eggs per day. Character changeable from peace-loving to spiteful. They become more aggressive as the weather worsens.

bee food

The main food of insects is nectar. A more active collection trend can be seen when the sugar content of the nectar is 50%. A higher concentration of the substance makes the process more difficult. After the nectar is collected, insects add salivary secretions to it, thereby removing excess water, and then transform it into one of the components of everyone's favorite treat.

On average, the water in nests with normal ventilation evaporates for about 5 days, however, with a decrease in the ventilation of the room, there is a delay in the removal of liquid, which can be up to 20 days. To remove 450 g of water, insects use 100 g of sugar. After processing the nectar and adding padi to it, a honey delicacy is obtained - a mixture of fruit and grape sugars, consisting of: water from 21 to 47%, organic acids, nitrogenous and mineral substances, vitamins.

In addition to nectar, insects eat flower pollen, which is used as a protein and vitamin supplement for feeding young animals. In the process of collecting pollen, they mix it with saliva and nectar, making small lumps - pollen. The pollen is carried in pollen baskets located on the hind legs.

From raw pollen, insects make bee pollen, which they put in separate cells and preserve with saliva and nectar. Preservation ensures the process of lactic acid fermentation, which preserves the beneficial properties of bee bread and prevents it from spoiling.

What colors do bees prefer?

The most attractive to insects are purple and blue-green flowers.. This was proven during the experiment. Scientists built a structure in which they placed flowers with different colors and insects. The latter immediately went to the purple and yellow flowers.

Surprisingly, they are able to determine the type of pollen that suits them from a distance, so among beekeepers, the amount of nectar and pollen is considered the main criterion for choosing one or another flower in insects.

One more interesting feature revealed Professor Lars Chitka together with his colleagues. She conducted an experiment in which purple and pink flowers were installed. Moreover, purple flowers were warmer than pink flowers. It turned out that 58% of insects gave their preference to the first flowers. To confirm the theory, scientists conducted a reverse experiment, where pink flowers were warmer than purple. Here the result was more interesting: the percentage of insects choosing honey plants increased and began to account for 61.6% of the total, and preference was given to flowers with more high temperature. The professor connects the peculiarity of choosing a food source with the natural need to regulate body temperature, which is necessary for survival within a certain climatic zone.

The temperature of the nectar is a source of additional energy that increases the speed of this process, and the color of the flower is an identifier that insects remember and subsequently determine the warmer ones.

bee enemies

Insects have a fairly large number of enemies and therefore are very vulnerable to them. They differ both in their species and in the nature of the damage caused to the family. Enemies of adults are the following categories:

In its appearance, it is similar to an ordinary wasp, but only with a larger head and a bright yellow belly. The habitat of the bee wolf is central part Russia and the southern stripes of the country. Burrows are tubular up to 1 m long. Queens usually build nests on cliffs or slopes to provide protection and inaccessibility to housing. The habitats of the philanthus can be identified by slopes riddled with round holes, which are the norms of the insect. They eat nectar extracted from flowers and honey delicacy from bee stomachs. When attacked, the bee wolf attacks the worker, killing him with a sting, and then turns him over on his back and presses on his abdomen, thereby causing the honeydew to drain from the goiter into the proboscis, which is then eaten by the philanthus.

If the purpose of the attack of the bee wolf was honeydew, then after eating it, he leaves the corpse of the insect at the site of the attack. When he needs food for young animals, the philant takes his prey to the nesting place, where he carefully places it in the center of the dwelling, and then lays eggs on the chest of the corpse. The larva that was born is very hungry, so it immediately starts eating the insect on which it was born.

• European bee-eater

A small and beautiful bird with a greenish-blue color, a golden-yellow throat, a brown-brown back and a bluish-green tail. The body length is 0.26 m. The nesting sites are located on steep slopes. The nest itself is a hole dug in the ground, the length of which can reach up to 2 meters. In the underground part of the dwelling there is a large space where birds live. The laying season runs from early May to early June. During the period, the female lays up to 8 eggs. Departure of chicks begins in June and ends in July.

Bee-eaters cause enormous damage to apiaries, as they do not fly alone. An attack on insect nests occurs in flight, after which they grab insects and fly away. On average, one bird is able to catch up to several dozen insects.

• bee-eater

Another bird of prey. They are distinguished by a dark brown back, a white abdomen interspersed with dark brown spots. They are large, their body length is 0.65 m. Bee-eaters are distributed throughout Russia. They nest during May. The average clutch per season consists of 3-4 eggs, on which dark brown spots are located. The diet of bee-eaters consists of all insects of the stalked-bellied order.

Large wasp-like carnivores with a yellow head and anterior thoracic region. The first segment of the abdomen is dark brown, edged with a narrow yellow stripe, the remaining segments are yellow with black spots interspersed. They live in large families consisting of workers and a queen. Toward the end of the summer period, the queen lays eggs with males and fertile females that will hatch by autumn. Spring is the time of nest building, erected under the roofs of residential buildings or in tree hollows. Hornet larvae eat animal food.

Video: general concepts about bees

The evolution of bees

Insects, like ants, evolved from wasps. Their distant ancestor was a family of sand wasps, which were predators. Wasps mainly ate workers who collected pollen. This preference presumably gave impetus to the transition from eating insects to feeding on nectar and pollen. The evolution of the superfamily Vespoidea proceeded according to a similar scenario.

In 2006, the first representative of the oldest species of insects was discovered in Burma, sealed in Hukawng Valley amber. They named it Melittosphex burmensis. It is a transitional link from the predatory lifestyle of wasps to the first pollinators. The hind legs of the discovered individual are characteristic of predators, but the thick hairs covering the body are more suitable for pollinating insects.

Diseases of bees

The classification of diseases is very extensive, however, all the diseases included in it are divided into two large groups:

• contagious;
• non-contagious.

The main diseases that insects most often suffer from are:

• Varratosis

Infected individuals develop a weakness that, if not promptly responded to, will lead to their death. The main sources of the disease are: insects that got into the nest when they were transplanted into a weaker family, and larvae affected by ticks.

Intestinal disorder of insects, which is caused by the simplest biological organisms. Its characteristic features are: liquid waste products that are found throughout the nest, and abundant death of insects. In some cases, the uterus dies with nosematosis.

Infected insects have a noticeably enlarged abdomen compared to other individuals. In general, nosematosis occurs due to poor and insufficient care of insects, the presence of impurities that should not be in the feed, insufficient preparation of hives for winter and a small number of young insects.

• Ascospherosis

A fungal pathogenic disease that can develop after insect infestation by the varroa mite. The greatest likelihood of infection with ascospherosis appears during bad weather with high humidity air, as the conditions are most favorable for the reproduction of pathogens.

• Filamentovirosis

A disease that occurs as a result of exposure to a virus that infects DNA. It is typical for individuals of the older generation. The disease develops gradually and may not be detected at the primary stage. From the third to the fourth day, the insects weaken and move sluggishly around the hive, and the next day the hemolymph becomes cloudy and becomes milky white. Insects die, as a rule, on the 8-12th day. The uterus is more hardy and lays eggs for about 6 more days, and dies on about 17-18 days. A distinctive feature of the disease is a large death near the entrance of the family during the winter.

Insect infection can occur during feeding if the food contained particles of viral organisms or the pores of a nosema (fungus) got into it. Half of the family falls under the influence of the disease. The virus spreads through the midgut cavity, the nervous system, and also affects the areas of the poisonous and wax glands.

Extinction of bees

The beginning of the 90s was not very good for the world union of beekeepers, since then the first mass disappearances of honey insects were recorded, mainly during winter period. Unfortunately, from that time to the present, about 4 thousand species of insects have died. In 2006, in the United States, a similar phenomenon was given a scientific name and it became known as the syndrome of the destruction of bee colonies.

Until now, scientists have not been able to fully identify the causes of this syndrome. Presumably, such a phenomenon can be caused by biotic factors or human economic activity, and possibly both at the same time.

Since ancient times, insects have been shrouded in myths and legends. According to the ancient Egyptians, the human soul after death transformed into a golden insect and left our world. Hittite mythology tells of an insect that found the god Tepin and woke him up, returning prosperity to the earth. The Greeks were convinced that the god Zeus was nourished by the nectar of Melissa. The legends of the ancient Greeks mention Aristaeus, the son of the god Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, who, according to the scriptures, taught people the art of beekeeping. However, the reality was quite different.

In fact, the inhabitants of ancient Palestine were actively engaged in a kind of breeding of honey insects. At that time, swarms of insects nested on rocks, from which, in hot weather, melted nectar flowed down, picked up by people.

The value of nesting insects was recognized already in the Stone Age, so the pithecanthropes diligently collected them for the extraction of wax and delicious treats, despite all the danger and difficulty. The collection of honeydew by human ancestors is confirmed by cave paintings, such as those found in the Spider Cave.

Scientists find it difficult to answer when the transition from collecting to breeding insects in the classical sense took place, but on the basis of archaeological data, we can talk about the first breeding attempts dating back to a period of 6 thousand years ago, which were undertaken by the Egyptians.

Unfortunately, in modern world circumstances often develop in such a way that we stop paying attention to the nature around us. When we travel somewhere (say, to Africa or Australia), we are amazed at the diversity local flora and fauna, but in our own state we do not notice any plants, or birds, or animals. But in vain. Take, for example, such an amazing insect as a bee. Interesting facts about her cannot fail to attract the attention of even the most uninquisitive.

This article aims to interest the reader by telling him in a simple and understandable language about the nuances that are well known only in narrow circles. For example, many will actually be curious to know where bees live in winter, how and what they eat in warm and cold season, how they breed and build their homes.

Section 1. Characteristic features of insects

Bees, interesting facts about which in recent times in literally words flooded the media, possess membranous wings, a short and elongated abdomen.

The body of males is sometimes densely pubescent, and they have straight antennae, but in females they are articulated, consisting of 12-13 segments. The eyes are naked, sometimes covered with cilia, the mouthparts are of the gnawing type.

All bees have a proboscis and an expanded first segment of the hind legs - key elements for collecting pollen from flowers and nectar. The latter, by the way, is collected by the bees with a sucking proboscis in the goiter with a valve that blocks the access of nectar to the gastric tract. The abdomen is often covered with hairs. On the hind legs there is a "basket" - especially for collecting pollen. By the way, not everyone knows that only females have a sting.

Section 2. Hierarchy of bees

These insects are quite highly organized insects: they look for food, water, equip housing, honeycombs, take care of the uterus and offspring by joint efforts and together protect themselves from enemies. That is why breeding bees, as a rule, does not require such huge efforts as it might seem at first glance.

most advanced public education of this species are eusocial colonies, where honey bees, the so-called stingless bees, and bumblebees live together. Given that they have a clearly defined division of labor, then this group may well be called semi-public.

In the case when, in addition to all of the above, the swarm consists of a queen and her offspring, females, the group is called social. In a similar one, as a rule, they are called the uterus, and her daughters are called workers.

Section 3. How long does a bee live?

These insects are directly dependent on the overall strength of the family. In a weak group, a worker bee can live in the spring for about 4 weeks, in a strong group - 5-7 weeks. And it all depends on the total size of the family, as well as the egg production of the uterus.

However, not everyone knows that bees are able to regulate their lifespan. Most likely, they have some secret of body renewal if there is no opportunity to grow a new generation of bees. For example, if a family suddenly lost a uterus, then their lifespan can increase to 200 days or more.

Also, the life of most worker bees is lengthened at the time when the colony decided to swarm or prepare for wintering. Overwintered insects live for about 7 months and work for the benefit of their colony for about 1 month. That is, winter individuals live 5-7 times longer than summer ones. Thus, the summer life of a bee averages a little more than a month, and the winter life is about 200 days.

Section 4. What is bee nectar made of and how is it formed?

The bee scoops up a drop of flower nectar secreted by plants (weighing 40-50 mg) and enriches it with its saliva, which contains a lot of enzymes. In addition, in her goiter, the process of splitting sucrose occurs, as a result of which nectar becomes honey.

Upon returning to the hive, the collecting bee passes a drop of nectar to the receiving bee, which continues the biochemical processing, and then puts the nectar into the cells of the combs, where it is also subjected to chemical processing - "ripening".

At this time, intensive sedimentation of tannins occurs, etc. Keeping bees during this period requires special attention and care.

Section 5. Worker

It is hard to imagine that in order to get just one spoonful of honey for a whole day, 200 worker bees will have to actively collect nectar. But that's not all. Approximately the same number of individuals should be engaged in the reception of nectar, its further processing in the hive. Plus, some of the bees ventilate the nest for faster evaporation of excess water from the brought product.

And in order to seal honey in 75 bee cells, workers need to allocate 1 gram of wax. To create 1 kg of honey, bees must make about 4,500 sorties, collect nectar from 10 million flowering plants.

In principle, a strong family can collect 5-10 kg of honey per day or 10-20 kg of nectar. able to fly 8 km from their hive in search of such prey.

What a bee loves is hard to guess. These insects are able to collect nectar from completely different flowering plants. That is why some apiary owners prefer to take their beehives to collect honey from a certain type of plant, such as acacia, rapeseed or linden.

Section 6. Characteristic features of these honey insects

It would seem, well, what could be unusual in such a fairly common insect as a bee? Interesting facts, however, indicate quite the opposite. Despite the fact that in the warm season we can observe them quite often, not everyone knows how they live and how their painstaking work is organized.

Of course, the professional maintenance of bees requires special skills, but an ordinary person will be curious to know that honey plant families are pronounced social colonies, where each individual performs its function, determined by its biological age.

So, young insects (up to 10 days old) appear to feed the queen and larvae. Somewhere from the age of 7 days, special wax glands begin to work on the lower part of the abdomen of builder bees, so they switch to different construction works in the nest.

By 14-15 days, the bee, interesting facts about which cannot but arouse curiosity, loses productivity, the productivity of the wax glands drops dramatically, and the insects begin to engage in other activities related to caring for the nest - cleaning the cells and taking out the garbage.

When the bees are 20 days old, they provide ventilation and protection of the nest. Individuals older than 22 days are engaged in honey collection. And those who are older than 30 days are responsible for collecting water for the needs of the family.

By the way, adult bees remain in the hive in winter, and for this period their life seems to freeze, but insects do not die, as is commonly believed.

Section 7. How to recognize the killer?

Such an insect as a bee, interesting facts about which at first glance, as a rule, seem very unlikely, can be a mortal danger for a person. And now we are not talking about the poor fellows with allergies, a simple bite in which causes a terrible reaction of the body, and even suffocation. Everyone and us can become a victim, however, for this you need to go to South America.

Not everyone knows that killer bees are honey bee hybrids. They have a higher aggressiveness, they can attack humans, pets, sting very seriously.

According to statistics, more than 200 people have died in Brazil since 1969, and several thousand people have been seriously affected by these individuals. These individuals attack 30 times faster and sting 10 times more often than ordinary honeybees.

At the slightest alarm, they attack in a whole swarm of anyone who appears within a radius of 5 m from their hive, and can pursue the victim for about 1.5 km. And if you consider that a bee of this kind loves shady places, for example, parks, squares or forests, it turns out that you can easily meet her on a walk.

Recently, information appeared in the foreign press that these insects killed about a thousand people throughout America. Horrible death usually occurs due to anaphylactic shock.

Today there are many breeds of bees. All of them are the result of both natural and artificial selection.

Selection Options

In the process of choosing honey bee breeds, all of the above factors must be taken into account, as well as the characteristics of the climate in which you plan to breed them. For example, southern species of insects in the northern regions also collect honey well, but they will not survive the winter.

You should also pay attention to what plants grow nearby. For example, Central Russian bees will be out of competition in collecting honey in buckwheat fields or in plantings of other honey crops, but they will be significantly inferior to other breeds in honey collection in meadows where different types plants.

Representatives of the Caucasian breed are not picky and collect honey in any conditions. The following characteristics and photos will allow you to get an initial idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe breeds of bees.

Central Russian breed

Central Russian (they are also called dark European) bees are a native species for the central and northern regions of Europe. These insects are distinguished by a darkish-gray color, which, together with the area, gave them the name.

The Central Russian breed of bees is characterized by large size, resistance to diseases and increased frost resistance. The fertility of queens is extremely high. During the day they lay up to 3000 eggs, which contributes to the growth of the bee colony.

Central Russian bees are quite vicious, they get nervous when the beekeeper does not pay enough attention to them or interferes too roughly in the life of the hive. They are not prone to theft, they do not protect nests well from thieving bees. Highly susceptible to swarming.

Due to the commitment of this breed of bees to collect nectar from only one culture, it is possible to obtain monocultural honey (linden, acacia, buckwheat, etc.). But because of this behavior, insects are late in switching to better crops and produce honey on faded plants. Productivity is high: up to 200 kilograms of honey are harvested per year.

Zoned in Russian, Belarusian and Baltic forest regions.

Italian breed

AT natural conditions Italian bees live only in Italy. In the middle of the last century, they were brought to America, where a lighter golden Italian wasp was bred on their basis.

The Italian breed is characterized by a yellow body color, which is clearly visible in the photo. Insects weigh 113-117 grams. The length of the proboscis is 6.5-6.6 millimeters.

This breed is characterized by peacefulness, medium swarming and high wax production. Insects cannot stand the wax moth and effectively fight it. They protect the hive from thieves, but they themselves can engage in theft. They are very enterprising in the search for food, they quickly switch to new honey plants. Queens lay about 3,000 eggs per day.

The Italian breed is the most resistant in comparison with its relatives to acarapidosis and European foulbrood, but is often subjected to nosematosis, honeydew toxicosis. Winter hardiness is not very high. Insects winter in strong families, which is why they require a lot of food.

The development of families in the spring is slow and takes a long time. Therefore, Italians are not recommended to be bred in regions with early honey collection. But they are great for regions with late honey collection. Excellent pollination of entomophilous crops.

The beekeeping of the United States is based only on the Italian breed.

Carpathian breed

Carpathian bees, or Carpathians, live in the Transcarpathian region. Ash color prevails in their color. Average length proboscis - 6.5 millimeters. But in some representatives of the bee family, it reaches 7 millimeters. The Carpathian breed has the longest wings. In terms of body size, it occupies a boundary position between its Caucasian relatives, which have small sizes, and Central Russian, with their characteristically large sizes.

The characteristics include the following features: increased productivity of queens (more than two thousand eggs per day), the ability of worker bees to quickly feed their offspring, which ensures intensive family growth, extraordinary enterprise in finding and using sources of honey, increased ability to form wax and other bee products, weak swarming, disease resistance, frost resistance, economical use of food reserves, increased peacefulness (they do not show anxiety and aggression when examining nests).

These insects easily get along for 1.5 months of the uterus (young and old). They pollinate well fruit trees and agricultural crops. Carpathians feel great even in the conditions of Central Siberia.

The main disadvantages are a commitment to theft and indifference to the wax moth. Therefore, beekeepers have to pay Special attention eradication of these pests.

The Carpathian breed, due to its merits, has gained immense popularity among Russian beekeepers. It is regionalized in 30 districts of the country. In terms of the prevalence of Carpathian bees, only Central Russian ones are superior.

caucasian breed

Caucasian breeds of bees are divided into 2 types: yellow and gray mountain Caucasian bees.

Gray mountain Caucasian bees live for a long time in the Caucasian mountains and Transcaucasia. As you can see in the photo, they are painted in grey colour. The proboscis of worker bees belonging to the Caucasian breed is the longest. It reaches 7.2 millimeters.

This species of bees is distinguished by unusual peacefulness, weak swarming, increased production of propolis, entrepreneurialism in the search for honey sources, quickly switch to new honey crops, and are pollinators of legumes, including red clover. Even in years with a weak honey flow, good stocks of honey are harvested. Able to fly in the cold, with light rain and fog.

Winter hardiness is lower in comparison with Central Russian and Carpathian. They are severely affected by diseases. The productivity of queens is relatively low: no more than 1500 eggs are laid per day.

Yellow Caucasian bees live in the countries of Transcaucasia. Significant yellowness appears in the color of the body. Character traits- predisposition to theft, strongly pronounced swarming, susceptibility to various diseases, low winter hardiness (prefer warm climate). The productivity of queens is quite low - up to 1700 eggs per day.

Krajina breed

The Krajina breed of bees, or karnika, was originally found in the Alps, Austria and Yugoslavia. Insects are painted gray with a characteristic silver edge. They are small in size.

The Krajina breed of bees is characterized by calmness and peacefulness, active early spring development of the bee colony, rapid transition to new honey plants, efficient collection of honeydew honey, poor formation of propolis, and economical use of feed.

In terms of winter hardiness, they are superior to Caucasian bees, but inferior to Central Russian ones. Immune to honeydew toxicosis.

Relatively resistant to European foulbrood and nosematosis. Karnika is best suited for areas with a short honey flow and a cool climate, as well as for areas where it is possible to collect honeydew honey. This breed is the basis of Western European beekeeping.

Ukrainian breed

Steppe Ukrainian bees have lived in the steppe and forest-steppe regions of Ukraine, Russia and Moldova since ancient times. Zoned in many regions of Ukraine. Many signs bring these insects closer to the Central Russian bees, but their color is slightly lighter. The proboscis grows in length by 6.1-6.5 millimeters.

Ukrainian bees are characterized by moderate aggressiveness, a high tendency to form swarms, and satisfactory winter hardiness.

Kuban breed

The Kuban breed of bees is a pronounced southerner. It is adapted to hot summers and occasional winter overflights. Representatives of this breed of bees give a lot of honey. They have a peaceful nature, but are intolerant of queens of other species. The disadvantage is the ability of worker bees to become tinder.

Far Eastern breed

The Far Eastern bee is not officially recognized as an independent breed. It was formed as a result of crossing Italian, Ukrainian and Caucasian bees. The body color is grayish or grayish-yellow.

These insects are excellently adapted to specific conditions and intensive collection of honey from linden. They are peaceful, winter-hardy and immune to rot. Disadvantages - the tendency to form swarms and low productivity of queens.

northern breed

The northern breed of bees (although this is a conditional name) is found in the Altai Territory, Siberia and the Far East. Often they are called Central European.

They are distinguished by high productivity of queens, resistance to diseases, increased winter hardiness, excellently adapted to life in the harsh conditions of the north. because of short summer they do not have time to stock up on a sufficient amount of honey, but it is highly valued, as it is collected in ecologically clean areas.

Buckfast

Buckfast is especially popular among beekeepers around the world. They have many advantages: they produce a large amount of honey, effectively fight ticks, clean nests of hives well, do not form swarms, are characterized by high hard work, disease resistance, vitality, a keen sense of smell and a peaceful disposition. They can collect honey in any conditions, but prefer rainy weather.

The only drawback of the breed is low winter hardiness.

A carpenter

By appearance these insects look like a bumblebee, but their body is missing yellow. Queens and drones are painted black, and their wings are blue.

A distinctive feature of the breed is the collection of honey even in bad weather. Their furry legs are capable of collecting large amounts of pollen.

leaf cutter

These insects differ from their relatives by a flattened body, a large rounded abdomen, a non-standard head shape, a narrow long proboscis and strong mandibles that can cut leaves, for which they got their name.

This breed of bees is bred for pollination of strategically important honey plants (alfalfa, melons, vegetables). Leafcutter bees do not produce honey and are solitary.

giant bees

A characteristic feature of the breed is the absence of external differences between worker bees and queens. Live only in wild nature, are not amenable to domestication.

Himalayan bees

These insects prefer mountainous areas. Characterized by a typical yellow-black color. They form hives on trees, rocks, buildings, bridges. They are committed to seasonal migrations.

Cuckoos

This species of bees lives in Australia and southeastern regions of Asia. They are large in size and black and blue in color with shiny hairs. They do not build nests, but throw offspring to relatives of the Amegillus genus. Cuckoo bees are slow and lazy, unable to collect pollen.

It is impossible to give an exact answer to the question: “What breeds of bees are the best?” Each breed has its own advantages and disadvantages, which makes it optimally suited for certain conditions.

Based on the above information, we can conclude that the best breeds of bees for the neutral, central strip of Russia are Central Russian and Carpathian.