Bashkir bees are amazing insects that are highly efficient. These are workers who are able to work for wear 17 hours a day. They do not have the strength to protect their nests, but if a person begins to disturb them, they can become furious and bite their offender. The article considers the lifestyle of Burzyan bees.
History
Earlier, until the 50s, honeycombs with honey were completely removed from the sides. Bees died in the winter, but the honeycombs were updated and the side did not rot. And often families of wild bees could settle in it. This method has exhausted itself in the 60s: then in Bashkiria they began to keep bees in the hives. Bashkir beekeepers breed bees not only in apiaries, but also are engaged in beekeeping in forests.
In the hollows of trees on abandoned sides there are often completely healthy, without signs of disease, bee families. Nature independently takes care of the offspring of wild forest bees. Their existence directly depends on honey plants. These insects once mastered new lands and built entire villages near new sides.
The appearance and nature of insects
Many European bees are dominated by a dark color. Burzyanki received the same name due to the placement in the region of the Central Russian Upland. Bees are able to bring unique honey products, which have a great taste, obtained from collecting nectar from linden trees and other medicinal vegetation.
Bashkir bees predominate with a characteristic dark gray shade of the body with a lack of yellow color. They have a large body, which makes them the largest representatives of the species in their natural habitat. But at the same time, they have a short proboscis, 5.6-6.1 mm long.
Regarding the nature of the Bashkir bee, it is quite complex: the bees are aggressive when using smoke and servicing the hive.
Productive Indicators
Bees like to collect nectar from linden and buckwheat, from cultivated and wild plants. Honey has attractive external characteristics. With intensive work, the insect can collect a lot of product. During the flowering of linden, one bee family is able to bring 12 liters of nectar per day to the nest.
Particularly abundant, the bee collects nectar from monoflora honey collection. These insects accumulate a lot of product in a short period of time. They tend to build large honeycombs, where capacious and high-quality cells are directly related to the large size of the bees themselves.
The mother liquors, in comparison with the southern species, have thick and strong walls. The advantage of the Bashkir bee is a great industriousness, due to which beekeepers give preference to this breed.
Lifestyle
Bees have a high level of productivity, although they react quite sharply to changes in weather conditions. These bees like the sun, so they fly out to "work" in sunny weather at an air temperature above 7 degrees Celsius.
When fumigating a hive, the bee family becomes incredibly aggressive. Not all individuals like to be in sight, because of which they constantly hide in the shadow of the hive. The change of the uterus becomes a kind of stress for them, because the family is strongly attached to the "queen of the swarm", even if it is wild. This is not only problematic when strengthening a family before wintering, but also makes it almost impossible for two queens to live in the same dwelling. Therefore, work with these insects should take place exclusively in a protective suit - this will help not to suffer from bites.
Many beekeepers claim that Bashkir bees are able to work 17 hours a day. Bashkir bees fly to work at 5 o’clock in the morning, and return already closer to the night, at 10 o’clock. Hardworking insect makes a dry signet of its white products. Because of this, honeycomb dominates attractive characteristics.
Great benefit from the Bashkir bee is all that it is the most productive breed with intensive honey collection. But with a mediocre indicator, it is inferior to many other species, moreover, it takes a long time to get used to new honey plants.
Honey collection
Bashkir bee collects honey from small-leaved linden - it takes 10-12 days in early July. There are tall lindens in Bashkiria, and you can collect as much nectar from one centenary tree as from one hectare of buckwheat. But this does not happen annually.
Wood is taken for analysis, drilled and mixed with iodine. If the presence of starch is detected, the mixture turns blue - this indicates that the bribe will be good. And the frequency of an excellent bribe is 8 years.
Features of wild and Bashkir honey
Some beekeepers like beekeeping, rather than raising bees in an apiary, but to a greater extent it is a tribute to old traditions, because the profitability of such an occupation is an order of magnitude lower financially and in the production of bee products. Wild bee honey has large amounts of wax and pollen, unlike products pumped out of frames.
The color of honey is darker. Bashkir bees are valued for their maturity, because it is known that honey is collected only once a year. The composition of honey includes many useful elements, it does not contain harmful impurities, endowing it with a special aroma and astringent taste.
How is honey bribe obtained?
Burzyan bees do not differ in high productivity, but at the same time they compensate for this shortcoming by the duration of the work - insects spend about 17 hours collecting honey. If the collection comes from one honey plant, productivity will be maximum. In this case, monofleur honey is formed, but due to the fact that it is collected only once a year, the product turns out to be multifler.
Bees are slowly getting used to new honey plants, but it is impossible to say that the Bashkir bee collects nectar only from familiar honey plants. They are quite prone to collecting honey from buckwheat and heather, acacia and even thistle. Low productivity is associated with minimal consumption of honey in the winter.
Bees feed on honey and beef, that is, protein products. This contributes to a shift in balance towards proteins. There are still disputes between scientists, from which propolis is developed. Several versions are exposed: from resinous buds on trees or from pollen. But pollen from Burzyan bees is stored in large quantities.
Loyalty
Loyalty is a lack of the Bashkir bee. On average, the loyalty of all insect families makes up the majority of those found in apiaries. The same process occurs in wild swarms. The negative point is that it is very difficult to return them to working condition. But at the same time, bees do an excellent job of frost and are considered economical insects regarding nutrition in the winter.
Breeding bees on board
Bashkir bees are engaged in both the traditional way with the use of beehives, and flight-keeping. This is a special type of beekeeping, in which insects do not live in the hives, but in the hollows of trees. For such breeding, you must first select the territory where there is a sufficient amount of forest. Coniferous and deciduous trees are suitable for the production of beads. Such boards can function properly for about 300 years.
Instructions for the production of bead and breeding bees:
- It takes only 1 day to make the bead, provided that modern tools are used. Previously, this took weeks. Once upon a time, beekeepers believed that collecting all honey was the right technique. But over time, they came to the conclusion that the bees needed a certain share for food, so they began to leave a part for them.
- The manufacture of beads involves the use of small round bars that resemble a tree trunk. They remove the middle part, then clean it - we get recesses that serve as a home for bees. To attract insects, it is necessary to grease the inside with wax.
- Next, you need to make guides - on them the bees will create their own honeycombs. Nail the bars just below the lid. Then bandage the board with wire. In areas with severe frosts, insect houses are insulated using moss.
- Due to the strong loyalty, beekeepers engaged in flight care suffer greatly. The reason for this is that the sides do not understand. But there is a way out of this situation: they cut the bead, leaving a circle on top to collect honey.
It is better to make large sides - this minimizes the swarm of insects. But small houses also have their advantages, because with their help, bees are removed and weaker families are strengthened.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Bashkir bee
The Bashkir bee has disadvantages, which are quite a lot:
- When working with bees, a protective suit is required to be worn, because insects can pounce on the one who disturbs them.
- The uterus is very difficult to replace with a new one. The Bashkir bee is strongly attached to the "queen of the swarm" and does not want to let her go, even if she belongs to the wild species.
- Strengthening the family before the winter period is almost impossible, the reason for this is that two uterus are unable to coexist in the same hive.
- It behaves aggressively with the beekeeper - I do not like it when smoke is used, the hives are disturbed.
- The Bashkir bee is distinguished by a strong loyalty, it is difficult to return to work.
- They tend to hide at the very bottom of the hive.
The Burzyan bee has many positive aspects:
- Initially, beekeepers appreciate the breed for its ability to work. Intensive work contributes to the collection of a large number of "crops". The peculiarity of this breed is that bee families can fly out even in light rain to “hunt” if they feel that it will be possible to get a small bribe.
- For a short period of time they bring a lot of products to the houses, actively build honeycombs.
- An accurate and careful attitude to the honey bribe makes the products not only tasty, but also attractive in appearance.
- Insects are able to easily survive the wintering and at the same time practically do not use up winter food supplies.
Beekeeper reviews
Beekeepers differently note the peculiarities of bee behavior and lifestyle. Some characteristics of Bashkir bees are presented, beekeepers speak of them like this:
Valeria, 38 years old, beekeeper. She began to breed Burzyan bees more than 3 years ago. I chose this breed for the mass of its advantages. Bees not only work actively, but also allow you to enjoy unusually delicious honey products. But I noticed the aggressive behavior of insects when you try to inspect the nest using smoke - the bees become very aggressive, restless, tend to fly into the lighted places, run down from the honeycombs, fall from the hive.
Dmitry, 45 years old, beekeeper. I have always been interested in bees, so I already knew exactly what I would do in the future. I began to wonder what breed of bees is best to breed, I came across a burzyanka. I did not regret it, because insects work actively for more than 15 hours. I not only breed bees, but also sell honey - this is my main job, bringing stable income.
Of the shortcomings noted that the bees are not able to defend themselves. If they are attacked, they are unable to fight off enemies, they cannot protect their nests. Other types of bees can easily ruin the Bashkir. But there is a significant advantage - they drive everyone away from the nectar found, not allowing it to be collected by other insects. For all seasons, I did not notice that the Bashkirs were inclined to theft.
Maxim, 56 years old, beekeeper. Engaged in beekeeping for more than 7 years. During this time I tried to breed Central Russian bees and other breeds. But most of all I liked the Bashkir bee, which, although it does not give a lot of honey, it works well, hard. I also like the fact that many of the insects can safely survive the winter period.
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The Bashkir bee bee is one of the best varieties of European bees. The insect has distinctive external characteristics, a special character, and the lifestyle is not the same as that of other relatives.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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