by Beekeeping — is a historical form of beekeeping that involves collecting honey from bees living in tree hollows.
The hollows (bort’) could be natural or several hollows were hollowed out in thick trees at a height of 4 to 15 m. So-called crosses or snozs were created inside the hollows to strengthen the honeycombs. Narrow long holes – dolzhei – were used to collect honey. People engaged in beekeeping are called beekeepers.
History of origin
The first beekeepers obtained honey from accidentally discovered hollows in which forest bees lived. Gradually, they learned to purposefully search for insect dwellings in order to obtain tasty and useful prey.
In Ancient Rus’, beekeeping became especially widespread in the 10th-17th centuries, playing an important role among the branches of the economy.
At that time, the volumes of honey and wax were quite large. Gall, who traveled around Russia in the 11th century, noted in his notes the abundance of honey and wax. Beekeeping was especially developed in the forested areas on the banks of the Oka and Desna, in the Dnieper region and near Voronezh.
The first beekeepers were, in a sense, poachers. While collecting honey in the fall, they left the bee colony without food supplies, which led to the death of the insects. Therefore, in the spring, the beekeepers had to populate the hollows with new bee colonies, for which they often went to another area.
This method had several advantages. Thanks to the annual renewal of the honeycombs, the decay of the beehives was significantly slowed down, and the bees were rarely subject to diseases and did not become smaller.
The decline of beekeeping
The first signs of decline in beekeeping became noticeable in the 18th century. At that time, Tsar Peter brought vodka and wine to Russia, replacing traditional mead. Kerosene replaced wax.
In addition, forests began to be cut down, freeing up land for plowing, which led to a reduction in the habitat of bees. In order to save their charges from destruction, beekeepers sawed out logs with hollows from fallen trees and transported them to another area.
The resulting structure was fixed to a tree, which turned out to be quite a labor-intensive task. To make the work easier, people found a clearing where rare chopped trees grew (this is where the word “apiary” comes from) and installed the beehives on the ground. As a result, it became easier to observe insects and collect honey.
In addition, beekeepers began to leave part of the honey for their charges, which ensured the preservation of the bee colony in winter. Thanks to such transformations, in the middle of the 19th century, an apiary system was formed, which laid the foundation for modern beekeeping. At this time, beekeeping was replaced by log beekeeping.
Modern beekeeping
Nowadays, beekeeping in logs and hives has been preserved in only one place – in the Shulgan-Tash reserve (previously called Burzyansky), located in Bashkiria.
It serves as a national symbol of the country, preserving its historical roots, promoting a careful attitude towards nature, earnings and health. Each family has its own secrets that are passed on to children.
The preservation of beekeeping in Bashkortostan is explained by the fact that the local population did not build houses for a long time and led a nomadic lifestyle. Another prerequisite for the development of beekeeping is the presence of forests untouched by human hands. In addition, lindens and maples, known as excellent honey plants, are widespread in the country.
Varieties
Depending on the types of forest dwellings for bees, several types of wild beekeeping can be distinguished. But in order to subdivide them, it is necessary to understand the principle of family formation.
Modern beekeeping involves imitating old technologies, facilitated by modern tools.
At the very beginning of the development of such honey production, it was difficult to stop the disorderly swarming of bees. This happened because the structures of the dwellings of these forest honey plants were indistinguishable.
The solution arose by itself when the log began to be sawn. At the very top, the beekeepers left a small hole through which it was convenient to collect honey. While observing the implementation of swarming, it was decided to expand the honey plants’ dwellings, arranging them in larger logs.
For the natural method, large hollows were selected, in which the honey product was collected with more difficulty than when collected in artificially created hives.
The nuances of beekeeping
The beekeeper’s profession and its secrets, including magical spells, were passed down through generations. Uninitiated people considered this profession dangerous and mysterious, and beekeepers were equated with werewolves and called squirrels.
In addition to being labor-intensive, the profession also presented serious danger. It is known that the sting of a hundred medium-sized bees (forest bees are much larger) can lead to death. And in one hollow there live over 20 thousand insects.
Therefore, in order to survive, people engaged in beekeeping had to have certain knowledge about the peculiarities of bee behavior and the necessary experience, as well as be in good physical condition, since they had to climb very high trees.
To climb a tree, beekeepers used improvised means: lezivo (special ropes), kiram (a special belt for fastening) or rope, claws, spikes, ladders. To protect themselves, they gradually improved their tools, among which the central place was occupied by a small axe with a curved handle.
Horse hair was used to make protective masks, a ring-shaped knife, hatchet, chisel, one-handed scraper and adze were used to build a beehive, and a gun was used to protect against predators (often people returned from hunting with bear skin).
Beekeepers also had to protect the beehives from bears who wanted to get a treat. For this purpose, a heavy log was tied near the entrance.
To get into the hollow, the bear would push the log away and receive a counterattack. It would begin to “fight” with the log, to no avail, until it retreated. To increase the effectiveness of the defense, metal pins were hammered into the logs.
How to make a bort with your own hands?
What will be required:
- Inventory. An axe with a sharp blade and a chainsaw are required.
- Materials. You should take a wooden block of suitable size. Ash, linden and oak are considered ideal materials. You will need clay and a piece of iron.
Before making a beehive with your own hands, you need to choose a live, healthy and tall enough tree, the diameter of which should be at least 0,8 meters.
Oaks and ash trees are considered the best trees for beehives. A hollow is cut in the tree and the inside is emptied. The length of the beehive should be at least 0,9 meters, and the depth – up to 0,3 meters.
They also make a dovzheya (window) for inspecting the beehive and honey collection. The height of the dovzheya corresponds to the height of the beehive, and the width varies within 12-18 centimeters.
After finishing the work, the window is closed with wooden lids, which are secured with maple wedges. The width of the lid is equal to the width of the dovzhya, and the height is about 6 centimeters. An important nuance is that the top lid should be longer than the bottom one.
After the window is made and closed, another hole is made – a flight hole. It should be located slightly above the middle of the side at a right angle to the main window.
With a drawing, modern tools in addition to traditional ones and the necessary skills, you can make a bort with your own hands in one day. But it is not enough just to make it, you need to ensure its safety for many years.
Thus, in winter, increased humidity forms in the hollow, which leads to wood decay and a decrease in the productivity of the bee colony. To prevent such problems, it is recommended to create a ventilation system in the form of microscopic holes.
It is also necessary to remove the honeycombs in a timely manner. Their accumulation in the hollow can cause the death of insects.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are several advantages of wild beekeeping over conventional beekeeping:
- Health of the bee colony. For the winter, wild bees are left in the nest with a supply of honey, which has a positive effect on immunity. Bees in hives are usually given sugar syrup.
- Manufacturing of honeycombs. Bees themselves determine the size of the honeycombs in the hive. Usually they make them larger, which has a positive effect on the insects, which grow larger.
- Number of bees. A hive can hold 3 times more bees than a hive. Usually up to 20 thousand. Accordingly, they produce more honey and are less prone to swarming.
- Productivity. From 1 beehive you can get about 2 buckets of honey, and if the honey plants are in good bloom, up to 50 kg.
- Saving. It takes less time and money to care for wild bees.
But one should also pay attention to the disadvantages:
- The capriciousness of bees. If insects do not like the material from which the hive is made, they may refuse to settle. Therefore, the choice of wood should be approached especially responsibly.
- Probability of bee death. During honey collection, when honeycombs are cut and broken out, insects can be harmed.
- Independence of the bee colony. The beekeeper has virtually no control over them.
- The importance of skills. The craft requires good knowledge of beekeeping and proper training.
Features of wild bee honey
Honey obtained from forest bees is unique. It is distinguished by its increased purity and great value, due to which it has found wide application in alternative medicine.
It is rich in vitamins and minerals, which provides its nutritional value, helps strengthen the body’s defenses and get rid of many diseases. Its use is especially recommended for colds, sore throats, flu, acute respiratory viral infections, pneumonia.
Bortevoy honey is characterized by its dark brown color, tart taste, smoked linden aroma and excellent digestibility. It is opaque, very thick and very viscous. It is collected manually, without the use of machinery.
Honey is not pumped out, which allows preserving all the useful substances and enzymes.
But in order for it to retain its properties in the future, it must be stored in containers made of natural materials, for example, in clay pots or cedar barrels.
Bortevaya dark forest bee
The dark forest bee Apis mellifera mellifera is a unique subspecies of the honey bee Apis mellifera, evolutionarily adapted to life in the continental climate of Northern Eurasia with long, cold winters.
At the current stage of beekeeping development, bees of this subspecies have survived only in a few isolated areas in the form of small islands in Eurasia.
The most numerous massifs of the dark forest bee in Eurasia are in Russia: about 300 colonies slightly affected by spontaneous hybridization in the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Southern Urals, about 000 colonies in the Perm Territory in the Middle Urals[ (Ilyasov et al., 2006) and about 250 families in the Republic of Tatarstan in the Volga region.
There is information about the preservation of significant areas of the dark forest bee in the Udmurt Republic, Kirov Region and Altai Krai (Ilyasov et al. // Beekeeping—2007, Brandorf et al., 2012).
Approximately 99% of dark forest bee families in the Southern Urals are kept in frame hives and about 1% live in forests in natural and artificial (bortki and logs) hollows in tree trunks, mainly in the Burzyansky district of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The evolution of the dark forest bee here took place together with the small-leaved linden tree Tilia cordata, so their main unique honey collection is formed during the flowering of the linden tree.
Biosphere
Currently, dark forest bees, living in logs, logs and natural hollows, have been preserved in the Southern Urals in the Shulgan-Tash State Nature Reserve with an area of 22 thousand hectares (created in 1958), the Altyn Solok Regional Nature Reserve with an area of 90 thousand hectares (established in 1997) and the Bashkiria National Park with an area of 82 thousand hectares (established in 1986)..
At the end of 2014, during another population depression, there were more than 1200 trees with hives and logs on the territory of the reserve, wildlife sanctuary and national park, of which about 300 artificial hollows were populated.
Approximately 4 thousand bee colonies of the Burzyan population in this zone are kept in apiaries with frame hives, and according to extrapolation of accounting materials, 200-400 “wild ones” live in natural hollows.
In 2012 year The listed specially protected natural areas, along with a number of others, received the status of the UNESCO complex biosphere reserve “Bashkir Ural” with a total area of 346 thousand hectares, and the regional reserve “Altyn Solok” began to be actually protected by the Ministry of Nature Management and Ecology of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
At present, in order to preserve the Burzyan wild bee and as part of the development of the reserve, it is planned to expand the territory of the Shulgan-Tash reserve in the north-west direction at the expense of the undeveloped territory between the Nugush and Uryuk rivers.
The staff of the Shulgan-Tash Reserve, the Altyn Solok Sanctuary and the Bashkiria National Park, together with local beekeepers, constantly carry out activities to optimize the population and selection work to improve the immunity, winter hardiness and productivity of the Burzyan wild-hive bee families, and to disseminate the experience of wild-hive beekeeping.
This policy of state nature conservation institutions allows preserving a unique population of wild bees – the isolate A. m. mellifera in Eurasia in the context of new threats of spontaneous hybridization and habitat destruction.
Honey and beekeeping in people’s lives
Flower nectar processed by bees was of great importance to the inhabitants of Rus’. The significance of this or that phenomenon in people’s lives can always be judged by holidays.
Until pagan holidays were replaced by significant dates with the names of Christian saints, the following honey holidays were celebrated in Rus’:
- The beginning of the spring honey harvest. In different regions, hives were taken out into the fresh air at different times, but on average, the day of the spring honey harvest was celebrated on April 30, that is, “on Zosima”.
- Honey Savior. This is the time when the main honey harvest has already been collected. In Christian times, honey was taken to church on this day to perform a ritual of blessing fresh honey, as well as honey products. Previously, this holiday fell on August 1, now it is celebrated on August 14.
- The Third Honey Festival is intended to close the circle of the annual cycle. On this day, the hives are put away for the winter.
Nowadays, all these holidays have lost their relevance, which cannot be said about the sweetest product itself. It is still popular, in demand and profitable.
Conclusion
Beekeeping in a beehive is a craft that requires special knowledge and skills. You need to make a beehive correctly, place it on a tree and study the main features of wild bees’ behavior and their maintenance. This is the only way to get truly high-quality and tasty honey.
