How to make a multicase hive with your own hands

Today, it is not difficult to acquire a ready multihull hive. Such a design can be bought in almost any store specializing in the sale of equipment for beekeeping. But if you want to save money and at the same time realize your creative abilities, then you can make a similar hive with your own hands.

What is needed?

By itself, the design of multi-hive is quite simple, so that it can be assembled by a person who has almost no idea about the joinery craft. The internal structure of the structure includes such elements.:

• pillow;
• a lap;
• mesh with strapping;
• lower and upper open entrance;
• honeycombs in which food is sealed, as well as empty cells;
• semi-housing with free space.

When assembling the body of a multi-body hive, pay attention to the choice of raw materials for manufacturing.

Such wood species as pine, cedar and larch are best suited. The thickness of the boards should be at least 35 mm.

The optimal frame size of the multi-body hive is 435x230 mm. It is best to maximize the apiary imitated the natural habitats of bees.

Usually in the wild, the hollow of a tree where winged insects make a hive is about 300 mm in size. The cover can be made of small ceiling plates. To ensure the reliability of bonding, the elements must be carefully lubricated with glue.

It is better to refrain from using metal nails. For insulation design, you can use small pads, sold in the store with goods for beekeeping.

Step-by-step instruction with drawings and dimensions

Accurate adherence to these dimensions and the use of quality materials for manufacturing will be the key to creating a strong and reliable design. The technology of construction of a multihull hive, as well as other types of hives, has its own characteristics. And they need to be considered in more detail.

Roof

The base of the roof is made of durable boards that provide rigidity to the whole structure. The roof is the only part where metal can be used. As a rule, the roof is wrapped with sheet metal. The thickness of the roof boards should be 25 mm. This is the optimum thickness, which, if necessary, will allow the use of a warming pad.

The roof is installed tightly so that no gaps form between it and the walls.

Also in the roof it is necessary to make several holes for ventilation. The optimal number of such holes - 4 pieces.

Housing

For the manufacture of the body used solid boards. During the cutting of the workpiece, you need to take an allowance of 2.5-3 mm on each side.For facing, you can leave an allowance of 10 mm. The dimensions of this part of the multicase hive should be as follows:

• The back and front walls - length-465 mm, width-245 mm.
• Side walls - length-540 mm, width 245 mm.

Sawing thorns should be with utmost care, keeping straightness. If straightness is violated during assembly of the case, a skew may appear.In turn, this may result in the cleavage of the side cheeks. It is necessary to cut out a thorn from the outside, and in the place where the eye is located, from the inside. After that, all the gaps between the spikes are processed with a chisel to prevent the wood from splitting.

Then the side wall is laid out on the workbench face down, and a wall with spikes for marking the eyes is located in the vertical position from above. The front edges must be flush.Each spike is outlined in pencil, and the lines are transferred to the board lying horizontally.

It is advisable to mark each corner with numbers in order not to confuse them during the assembly process. After marking the eyes, the chisel removes all the excess from both sides.

On the front and rear wall of the case, a fold is made for the subsequent installation of frames. On the upper edge of the inner side of the walls, folds are removed with a width of 11 and a depth of 17 mm. The frame is positioned so that its upper edge is 7 mm below the upper edge of the case - this will allow you to easily install another case on top. On the inside of the wall sanding and sanding a sander.

Going to case so: a wall with eyelets is laid on the workbench, and a wall with spikes is placed on top of it. Light blows of the hammer spikes are driven into the eyes. To prevent damage to the spikes, you can lay a wooden bar on them and beat through it.

For the convenience of transporting the body on each wall of the hive you need to make sinks (handles in the form of a recess).It is best to place the sinks 70 mm below the upper edge of the body, closer to the middle of the wall.

Bottom

The bottom should be double sided and removable. For the convenience of creating this part of a multi-body hive, you can draw schematic drawings.

So, to create a bottom frame you need to take 3 bars:

• Two side bars. Dimensions - 570x65x35 mm.
• Rear bar. Dimensions - 445x65x35 mm.

From the inside of the bottom frame in the bars you need to make a groove. Stepping back from the top edge by 20 mm, you need to groove a groove with a depth of 10 and a width of 35 mm. This slot will then be inserted into the bottom of a multi-body hive.The bottom and frame are fastened by the system "groove - thorn". This design has a frame on three sides, and the fourth side has a slot 20 mm high. The purpose of this gap is to provide air exchange. It is also necessary to make a stand for the hive, which will facilitate the transportation of the bee house through the apiary. In addition, this design helps to avoid direct contact of the hive with the surface of the earth.

Tips and tricks for making

When building a home for bees, follow these guidelines:

• Take care of warming in advance. Previously, beekeepers insulated hives with wool, but today there are more adapted materials for this, for example, polystyrene foam.
• Stock up tools for cutting parts and other work.. You will need a hammer, saw, stationery knife and corners for interior decoration.
• Each component must be smoothly planed., on their surface should not be scratches, chips and roughness.
• The hive must not be in an open area.. But if there is no other place for it, then it is necessary to provide good shading with the help of shields or wooden mats. This will reduce the risk of possible overheating for winged insects.

Benefits of a Multiple Beehive

Experts in the field of beekeeping Mannapov AG and L. Khoruzhiy in their book “Technology of production of beekeeping products according to the laws of the natural standard” indicate one interesting fact.

Long-term studies have found that bee colonies living in multi-body hives yield 30% more offspring compared to bees from a conventional two-body hive by 12 frames. Besides the fact that the multi-unit design accommodates 2 times more bees, it has the following advantages:

• Allows you to maintain in the upper part of the temperature, the optimum for the brood.
• The queen bee is provided with a large number of cells to lay eggs in the most convenient parts of the hive.
• Frames can be built much faster.
• It is possible to use a small size honey extractor that does not break the honeycomb.
• High speed and ease of maintenance of the hive, control of the sanitary level;

Multicase hive - a good alternative to the usual hive. Thanks to its compact size, you can achieve maximum effect at relatively low cost.