Thanks to the comfortable keeping of bees, it is possible to significantly simplify the beekeeper’s care for insects and improve the quality of honey products. Using the Berendey pavilion, beekeepers can easily organize the spring-summer migration of bees. Advantages of the cassette type design: mobility, lightness, compactness, protection of bee colonies from freezing/getting wet.
What it is?
The cassette-type Berendey pavilion is a small mobile/stationary van, inside of which several rows of hives are fixed.The advantage for the beekeeper is the ability to open each box separately from the others and comfortably care for a specific bee colony.
Most often, 1-4 cassette compartments are placed inside the van, in which several risers are fixed in layers. The pavilion can comfortably accommodate 16, 32, 46 bee families.
History of appearance
Traditional frame hives exhibit a number of disadvantages: they are poorly ventilated inside, inconvenient for cleaning and disinfection, accumulate moisture, are characterized by crowding of insects, are bulky and difficult to transport. Thanks to the development of technology, since the mid-twentieth century it has become possible to assemble multi-tiered thin-walled pavilion structures. The buildings allow you to comfortably keep a varying number of bee colonies year-round.
The Berendey design was developed by the Grachev family of beekeepers in order to simplify and reduce the time for caring for insects.
Advantages of the pavilion: ease of assembly and maintenance, stability, mobility and ease of transportation, maintaining a comfortable temperature, saving space when placing the structure.
Manufacturing Features
Manufacturers offer a wide range of Berendey pavilions, which can accommodate a different number of bee families. However, using the drawings, it is not difficult to assemble the structure yourself.
Required tools and materials
To make elements and assemble a full-fledged pavilion, you will need drawings and the following materials:
- plywood/wooden boards 20 mm thick;
- wooden beam with parameters 60x70 mm or metal pipe;
- sheets of hardboard and foam plastic;
- roofing felt;
- mesh with cells measuring 2.5x3 mm (metal, wood or nylon);
- nails, screws.
Build process
For the correct and comfortable functioning of the bee pavilion, it is important to take into account the requirements of the drawing. You also need to adhere to the step-by-step assembly sequence.
- Form a frame. To do this, supports are cut out of beams or pipes and tightly sheathed with boards. To ensure sealing and insulation, the inner sides are sheathed with layers of roofing felt and hardboard. Sound insulation of the pavilion will be provided by the outer cladding of the frame with foam plastic. The design assumes the presence of 5 doors, each of which provides access to two cassettes.
- Feeders are fixed to the doors, and mesh is attached to the bottom of the risers to protect against ticks and parasites.
- Cassette boxes of individual sizes are knocked together (height 140-296 mm, length 450-460 mm, width 357-360 mm). A gap of 15 mm is maintained between the drawers.
- On the front walls of the lower boxes there is a hole (a wide hole 20 mm high for the penetration of bees). The entrances of the top drawers are designed in the form of round holes.
- The mobility of the cassettes is ensured using special guides and fixed handles.
- A subframe the size of the cassette is assembled from timber and covered with mesh.
To make it comfortable to service structures in the apiary, each pavilion is equipped with a mobile or folding table.
Content specifics
When caring for pavilions, standard rules are followed: in the spring, bee colonies are carefully inspected, structures for disinfection are treated with special solutions; The cassettes are replaced in a timely manner, honey is regularly pumped out, the inside of the structure is kept clean, and in the winter the buildings are insulated with special shields.
The caveat of using the pavilions is the limited internal space, so you need to move inside carefully. During work, it is important not to make noise and carefully look after insects. The fire hazard of structures must also be taken into account. Because the materials from which the cassettes are assembled are highly flammable.
Berendey pavilions are considered a progressive method of breeding and keeping bees. The simple design greatly simplifies the procedure for caring for insects and transporting them. You can purchase ready-made structures or assemble pavilions with the required parameters yourself.
