Apiary

The Apiary ( Apiarium ) is a building, set up several hives the beekeeper and can also store beekeeping equipment. The houses are mostly bees meet wood construction, designed rare in masonry. Apiaries were up to their downfall widely used in the 1970s, especially in German-speaking countries, while their beekeepers bees always kept in the rest of the world outdoors in the magazine operation.

History

Apiaries were not invented until the 19th century, when there was a need, newly developed, wooden beehives set up protected from the weather. In contrast to the smaller apiary and bee car is a larger and more permanent facility. In the historical beekeeping apiaries were not required. In the medieval Zeidlerei bees were kept in hollow tree trunks in the forest. Later they put the sawed from the tree bees dwellings as so-called block booties on near the apartments. When up in the second half of the 19th century operated beekeeping basket with straw baskets as the bees dwelling apartments were under a " rain ", whose name was on the heath beekeeping bees fence. With the invention of the small frame as a portable Honeycomb 1853 by Baron August Freiherr von Berlepsch ( 1815-1877 ) spread a beehive made ​​of wood, the background treatment prey. These bees dwelling was weather- sensitive and need a rain-proof installation. The beehives were to stack into two or three levels, so that the space of a bee hive could be optimally utilized. As a result, beekeepers established in German-speaking apiaries on their land or in the open countryside, mostly in the woods.

Benefits

Through the permanent buildings, there is a very good weather protection for the bee boxes that are still made ​​of wood. In many house equipment required for handling equipment and parts, such as magazine Booties, honeycomb, honey harvesting equipment ( honey extractor ) can be accommodated. The beekeeper can even under adverse weather conditions ( wind, rain) are working at the grassroots or control them. Not infrequently, the spin of the honey, and even all the work for the breeding of queens were accepted in a separate area. This accounted for transport work and other premises otherwise necessary. In addition, protection against theft and some protection against mischief and vandalism.

Disadvantages

The preparation of a bee hive requires for beekeepers much higher investment than a free-standing in the field. Almost always, a building permit is required. City consumption exceeds the building in general, the building permit free space size, out of town a permit is absolutely necessary to protect against urban sprawl. In the international line-up in the apiary beekeeper is not very mobile and can the peoples usually are in place. In low nectar collection options by the honey harvest will be lower than if rich nectar sources are migrated. Also, the individual bees can easily evaporate in other colonies. In the summer, high temperatures complicate the beekeeper working in the apiary, which is caused by the solar radiation and the body heat of the bees. Also the lack of space and the relative darkness turn out to be unfavorable.

Decline

With the increased volume of the magazine prey in the German-speaking world in the 1970s apiaries were superfluous. These hives were cheaper and promised higher honey harvests, since they can be placed outdoors and operated as a migrant apiary. Many beekeepers therefore exchanged their hives against the modern magazines. An exception was the GDR, where the majority of apiaries and widespread bee car gave to the German reunification in 1990, which were hiking without great effort.

Worldwide honey bees were kept mostly in magazines, even before 1970. This is due to the fact that beekeeping in other countries is a profit-oriented livelihood. In addition, the warmer climate plays a role that prevails in many countries where beekeeping is traditionally strongly represented (Spain, southern France and others). The German beekeeping, however, was operated in the last 100 years of craft joyful and ingenious hobby beekeepers as a hobby, the income was not the primary objective.

Apiary

A simpler form of the apiary is the apiary or bee showers. This is a much smaller, firmly imputed free stand, which is only the hives protection against the weather. Its advantage is that it can be compared to the inmobilen apiary situated mostly without planning permission and removed without much effort at short notice again.

Firmer apiary in Glentleiten Open Air Museum, built in the early 20th century