Send links and pics please!

[BEE C]

Hey, I have been asked to give a lecture on bees for one of the education lectures at my lodge.  I have until feb to prepare.  In particular I would love it if anyone would send me pics or links to pics of beekeeping throughout the ages.  Its only a 15 min lecture on powerpoint, and pics can tell a lot.  I want to focus on beekeeping in ancient times (Egypt, middle east), and European and Early American Pioneer beekeeping.  The audience will mostly be older gentlemen 60-90 years.  We also have some gentlemen coming up from our sister lodge in seattle, so I was hoping to get any info on American pioneer beekeeping.  ANY bee lore, mythology, and customs would be greatly appreciated.  The history of beekeeping throughout the ages is a subject which has always facinated me, and I know some of you will have links to some interesting information on this subject we all share a love of.  Thanks.  Steve

[Mici]

beekeeping indeed is old, BUT the revolution happened right where i come from, yes from Slovenia "where's that" well, you're about to find out
http://www.carniolan.com/uk/slo_api-uk.htm
i'm kind of sad, since i see very little people know about Slovenian contribute to beekeeping, but now that i tried to post some material about some of the important beekeepers and researchers i know why. almost no material exists at least in english.

anyhow, i just wanted to say: DON'T FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTE TO MODERN BEEKEEPING HAD A VERY, VERY small NATION-Slovenians.

since you still have a lot of time, i'll try to translate a few skripts, just remind me from time to time. as a matter a fact, i'll try to present Slovenian beekeeping through time -a bit wider than it is.

BTW thank you, now i have a new project for winter

[TwT]

a bee photo site

http://beenews.net/

[BEE C]

Thanks guys, I do have a while, so any information translated would be great mici.

[kensfarm]

The first section in the "Hive & the Honey Bee" has a pretty good history of bee keeping.

[ctsoth]

Mici, I have read thru that website before....  I have seen pictures in many different places of those odd large bee houses, and I was wondering if they are still used, and if so what is the primary advantage of them?

Chris

[Mici]

odd large bee houses, Chris

hehe, you say odd.
yes, they are still in use, i can say everyone uses them. more than half of Slovene beekeepers beekeep in AŽ hives, it's kinda traditional yet modern beekeeping (i do to). the ones that beekeep in LR say it's not so economic but anyway as i was saying. AŽ hive consists of two compartments, lower is the brood chamber and the upper is, don't know the expression but "super" would be quite right. so as you can see, hives are put into 2 or 3 rows (one on top of the other) into the beehouses. you open AŽ hives in the back, so inside the beehouse. so primarly it serves as a...beehouse :)  so you have them in one place and that they're protected from the weather. the big advantage would be in my opinion-instead of having bee equipment all around your house, you keep it inside your beehouse. i wouldn't know all the advantages, i have also seen beds inside of them, some might use it as a therapy (it's a really pleasen sound to listen to, and the smell)
some build even bigger, and use them as an honey extraction room. anyway-to have it all together in one place-and in hand. plus it looks real good

[Brian D. Bray]

Mici,
From your discription I'm visualizing a house or shed with bees in all the walls and all the work is done from the room in the center.  Is that correct?

[Mici]

No, only in one wall there are hives-one the south one usualy, so the bees have as much sun as possible. yeah, all the work is done inside, only extraction of honey isn't, but some build very large beehouses so they can also extract in them, or mostu often, people build add-on to an add-on, like, 1st. a beehouse for 20 hives, then another workshop beside it(for extraction) then they realise they could take care of more hive---> another beehouse :lol:

EDIT:
found this great site, i'll translate it, the pics are great
http://www.muzeji-radovljica.si/1arh_razstav-prireditev/cebelarski/2cebelarsk-cebelnjaki.html

Code: [Select]

About Beehouses:
Beehouse is typical architecture of rural building. the most apropriate material is wood which fits in with other rural object such as corn-rack in most parts of Slovenia. about this "laws" of construction some great beekeepers have written:
Beekeeping teacher Anton Janša (1734-1773) described beehouses like this: Hives have to be protected from the sun, rain and other types of bad weather, they also have to be placed somewhere safe. this is what we call a beehouse.
Beehouse has to be built strong, so the strongest wind can't bring it down.  To asure this it has to be built against a wall or trees, the same kind of defense. against snow and rain it has to have a good and steep roof which shouldn't reach to much further in the front, so it doesn't block the sun, yet it has to protect hives from the rain.

Fran Lakmayer from the book Umni čebelar (1907) (smart beekeeper), the book is dedicated to beeginers and advanced beekeepers, wrote:
Where ever you walk in the land of Carniolans or nearby countries, everywhere you see hives, in little sheds-čebelnjaku ali uljnjaku (beehouses). beehouse protects them from bad weather and also bad people. in the winter bees are protected from the noise so they don't get disturbed.

In the book- beekeepers manual Praktični čebelar (1934) (practical beekeeper) Donat Jug described modern beehouses.:
Beehouse should be adept to the type of hives we use, since all hives have their way of opening and measurment. for Kranjiče (Carniolans-first portable hives with movable frames, ill describe them later) a simple beehouse is enough but for AŽ hives, there has to be something better, they also cost more. a beekeeper also gets more happines-enthusiasm from keeping if beside hives has a neat made beehouse to decorate the garden where it stands.
To the number of hives the size of the beehouse has to be adepted, for AŽ hives one-sided beehouses are made by a standard blueprint for 15, 18, 21, 36 hives, to acomodate 60-90 hives there has to be a larger building because the best beehouse is the one, where only one side is completely filled with hives. bees have greater chances overwintering in one "pile".

Newer beehouses aren't just buildings which enable bees good conditions but it's also the beekeepers workshop. if beehouse has a seperate room, it's used as an extraction room.[/code]

[BEE C]

MICI,
Here is my hive hut.  I liked the idea of european hive huts and tried to build one.  I don't really grasp how they work though.  Could you send me pictures and a description of how they are "worked"?  I would really appreciate it.  It makes good sense to me to house so many hives together.  Mine was to protect my hives from bears until I get my electric fence working, but also to winter the hives.

Thanks, steve.

[Mici]

heh, it's all in my previous post-the Edit, but, i could try looking for some blueprints on the other hadn..you really couldn't use it since you use LR hives.


I forgot to mention, some beehouses were transportable. before the "modile boom" or how could i rephrase it, before the use of trucks keepers did take their hives to pasture, but the hives needed protection, so some beehouses were transportable-i mean, you could use em...ermmm like tents, really can't remeber the phrase

[Brian D. Bray]

Mici,
Looking at the pictures (which are fantastic by the way, thanks) I would assume that the hives are accessed from the back rather than from the top as are Langstroth (LR) hives.
I would like to learn more about these bee houses.

[Mici]

yes, i already mentioned that AŽ hives are accesed from behind. well there isn't much more to be learned about the beehouses, it's all written in my previous 2 posts, well if i would dig about it i'd find more information, but i doubt it would be something fascinating. anyhow, i've said to myself almost the day i registered here that i'll take pictures of AŽ hive and present it to you, now i'm even more determined, and i'll also take some pics of nearby beehouses. as a matter a fact, it would have already be done if my brother wouldn't have breaken the camera. i'll try to borrow one to do this ASAP.

[Brian D. Bray]

could you post some pictures of a hive opened from the rear and of the type of frame used?  I've got and idea bubbling in the back of my mind.  I do my beekeeping from a wheelchair so being able to open them up from a door in the back would make things easier for me.  Picks and plans is what I'm looking for.

[Mici]

http://www.cebelarstvo-bedek.org/trgovina/catalog/images/10satni%20brezbegalnice.jpg
this is a normal 10 frame AŽ panj-rear view, has two compartments, the lower is called the brood chamber and the upper is a "super". a 3 compartment version allso exists, but is not so popular.
anyhow, i will do as i said, as soon as possible.
i think you could easy use them, but note, multiple extractions per year are needed, since you can't just add another super.

[BEE C]

Mici, Thanks for those pictures.  I think a lot of people would be very interested in this style of hive setup on this forum as we are mostly hobby beekeepers.  I would like to definitely build one of these sheds, if I could get plans.  I also like the look and historical context of these hives.  I wasn't even aware of this type of hive until you posted!  It looked like a standard hive which set into a cabinet type body and accessed from behind.  I think it would be easy to convert standard L equipment to a hive body like that.  ANY links to pictures, close ups, or plans on this type of hive would be much appreciated.  I have carnolian queens and I am intrigued by this method.  Thanks.

[Mici]

I too am in need of such plans :)  now that you've asked me, i've started actively searching them, i hope i get them soon. about AŽ mixing with LR, hmmm hard to say, i think you couldn't.
as i said, i'll make the close ups ASAP, don't be impatient :P , BUT i found some blueprints for AŽ hive, the measurment are in milimeters
http://www.slovenski-cebelarji.com/cvet-cebela-cebelarstvo-obranovic/view_album.php?set_albumName=album11
I hope they are usefull, from what i see the blueprints are for the real traditional one. i think that the best way of you getting the big picture will be when i make a few close ups, this blueprints almost make no sense :D

a link to a few not so good pics
http://www.cebelarstvo-bedek.org/trgovina/catalog/index.php?cPath=24
"satni" -frame ,  panj-hive   ,   praÅ¡ilček - nuc (my guess),

heh, now i see you can also buy a beehouse from this guy, i'll ask him for blueprints, since this two beehouses lokk really neat-small

[Brian D. Bray]

I can see from the pictures that the Langstroth hive as we know it in the USA would need major renovation.  The only foundation would work if the over all measurements of the plans illistrated were altered around them.

It might be possible to make more of the hive parts work if U-channel aluminum or brass  metal strips were used as guides to slide the frames in and out on.  

I wish I could see some pictures of these hives while they are open and being attended to by the beekeepers.

[Mici]

a promise is a promise.
i've made around 50 photos, all are the lowest possible quality so the upload was easyer.
if you wish, i can post them directly here, in order of course because they aren't in right order in this gallerie. i still think you'll be able to arange them in your head.
Note: i don't like taking photos of myself, it's just that it gives you a better understanding of items size.

Edit: i've noticed they're arranged backwards so..just go to page to and watch them in backward order

[BEE C]

MICI,
Those were great photos.  I was able to get a better idea of how your hives work.  I look forward to your photos!  I am going to use some in my lecture on beekeeping! :D