CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Why did two beehives not fight on the first day after being merged, but started fighting on the second day?

1. Why did two beehives not fight on the first day after being merged, but started fighting on the second day?

Friends who know something about animals know that many animals have their own territories, and for the animals that own the territories, their territories are quite sacred. If other species invade, a fight will inevitably break out. Either the animals that own the territories will be killed, and other animals will replace the original animals, or they will be driven away, which also means losing the territory. Bees also have this habit of guarding their territories, so how do bees guard their territories? Today, the Bee Tribe will share with you some small experiences on how bees guard their territories. If you can use them reasonably, it will play a better role in our sociability in bee breeding.

For a bee colony, the colony's territory mainly includes the inside of the beehive and a few meters around the beehive. It is quite safe for the bees inside because the bees guarding the territory are all outside the beehive. There are often three types of bees in a bee colony: queen bee, drone bee, and worker bee. The worker bees are mainly responsible for guarding the colony's territory, so there is also a type of bee among the worker bees that is specifically responsible for guarding the territory. We call this type of bee guard bee.

Guard bees have many tasks in a bee colony. Strictly speaking, the number of guard bees is determined by the activities they are engaged in at the time. The guard bees in a bee colony are all young worker bees. These young worker bees are not only engaged in guarding activities, but also in collecting honey, building nests, feeding, etc. However, the positions of the bees are different when they are engaged in these activities. The guard bees are generally only at the entrance of the beehive. So how do these guard bees guard their own bee colonies?

The guard bees at the entrance of the beehive divide the entrance of the beehive into multiple areas. Each guard bee has its own guard area. The guard bees in charge of this area are responsible for patrolling in this area. Their main job is to check the bees entering and leaving the bee colony. Once they find bees that are not from their own colony, they will immediately attack. This is the general way for guard bees in a bee colony to protect their own colony. So how do these guard bees know whether a bee is a bee from their own colony?

Guard bees judge whether a bee is from their own colony by distinguishing the smells emitted by bees entering and leaving their own colony. These smells mainly include the smells of honey, pollen, honeycombs, boxes, larvae, etc. Many friends do not seem to be curious about this, but in actual breeding, this is very important for a beekeeper. The main reason is that we always emphasize the cultivation of strong colonies in actual breeding, and one of the ways to cultivate strong colonies is to merge weak colonies. If we are familiar with the smells emitted by several weak colonies, we can merge these colonies without special treatment. This is widely used in actual breeding. So when is the smell emitted by bees in a apiary the closest in the beekeeping process?

In fact, the time when the smells of all the bees in a apiary are closest is mainly during the nectar flow period, especially when there is only one main nectar source in the local area and it is relatively single. All experienced beekeepers usually introduce queen bees to the bee colonies or merge weak colonies during the nectar flow period. At this time, no treatment is required to introduce the queen bee or merge weak colonies, because the smells emitted by the bees are the same at this time, and the guard bees cannot recognize them at all. Therefore, directly merging bee colonies during the nectar flow period is widely used in actual breeding. This is because the smells emitted by the bees in the entire apiary are the same during the nectar flow period, and the guard bees cannot recognize them at all after the colonies are merged.

When merging, alcohol is usually sprayed, so there won't be any fighting on the first day, and it's normal to see such a phenomenon on the second day.

2. How to organize a double-queen colony in Chinese bee breeding?

1. Principles of merging bee colonies

Queenless colonies are merged into queen colonies, small colonies are merged into large colonies, and if there are two queen colonies, the queen bee of poor quality is caught the day before and then merged. It is generally safer to merge in the evening.

2. Methods of organizing double queen bees:

Organize double-king colonies before and after wintering; organize two weak colonies placed side by side into double-king colonies; organize double-king colonies before and after the apiary is moved to another location; when swarming, organize double-king breeding colonies with the old king; organize double-king mating colonies after the big honey flow period. Organize double-king colonies by inducing the king.

Additional information:

Beekeeping

1. Stocking place

The place where Chinese bees are raised should be far away from factories, mines, roads, residential areas and noisy areas, and there should be clean water sources and sufficient flowering plants nearby. The biggest difference between Chinese bees and Italian bees is that they do not require a large amount of nectar sources, but only continuous flowering plants. After determining the breeding site, you need to choose a suitable beehive. It is best to use a standard beehive for Chinese bee breeding. All beehives should be low in front and high in the back, with the door opening at the bottom for easy cleaning.

2. Bee colony management

When starting beekeeping, you should first introduce high-quality bee species and cultivate a strong collection group through hybridization. Generally, you can cultivate a collection group by adding a small amount of reward feeding about one month before the main local nectar source plants bloom.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia - Bee

The merging of bee colonies

If a bee colony is too weak or loses its queen due to some reasons, it is necessary to merge two or more bee colonies into a large colony. A strong colony is the basis for high yields. Before the honey-collecting season, the merger method is also adopted to organize strong colonies for honey collection.

1. Principles of merging bee colonies

Queenless colonies are merged into queen colonies, small colonies are merged into large colonies, and if there are two queen colonies, the queen bee of poor quality is caught the day before and then merged. It is generally safer to merge in the evening.

2. Methods for merging bee colonies

A. Direct merging: mainly during the honey flow period, when the strong honey smell is the same in all bee colonies, and the bees are busy working and relax their vigilance, so it is easy to merge successfully. It is also easy to merge bee colonies that have just moved out of the wintering room in early spring.

Move the honeycomb with the queen colony to one side of the box, and place the honeycomb to be merged on the other side, leaving a frame of space between the two parts of the honeycomb or inserting a partition board in the middle. Spray some smoke or honey water when merging. The next day, move the two parts of the honeycomb together.

B. Indirect merging: Place a newspaper with many small holes on the queen nest box, add an empty super, put the honeycomb to be merged into the super, and cover it with the cover cloth, sub-cover, and box cover. When the two groups of bees bite through the newspaper and interact with each other, you can adjust the honeycomb. In hot summer, pay attention to ventilation of the super.

3. How do bees live in harmony and avoid fighting?

Method 1: Honey water and group

There is a smell between bee colonies, but this smell is relatively light. We can use something with a stronger smell to spray on the bees to confuse their smells and finally form a smell to merge the two bee colonies together. Many beekeepers will dilute some honey water to make "honey water" and sprinkle it on the two bee colonies when merging. When they drink the honey water, the smells of the two bee colonies are confused and they merge safely into one colony.

Method 2: Gauze and group

In the eyes of many beekeepers, mesh merging is actually a safe method of merging bees. One advantage of using mesh is that it can prevent bee colonies from fighting. The operation method is actually quite simple. Use mesh to separate the beehive in the middle, put the original bee colony on one side of the hive door, and some foreign bee colonies on the other side, and separate them in the middle with mesh. This will avoid the situation where the new bee colonies are not in harmony. It takes a process for them to integrate into a whole, and finally the bees will slowly accept it.

Method 3: Newspaper Group

I think newspaper swarming is the same as mesh swarming. During the operation, make some small holes in the newspaper and paste the newspaper on the queen excluder. Use the queen excluder to divide the beehive into two parts. Put the original swarm on one side, close to the nest door, so the effect will be better, and put the new swarm on the other side. Spray honey water on both sides of the bees. In the process of biting the newspaper, they will slowly swarm.

Method 4: Directly merge groups

Direct merging is done during the honey flow period. Generally, bees relax their vigilance at this time. Even if some other bees enter the whole bee colony, there will not be much difference. At this time, the merging speed must be fast. If it is delayed for a long time, some honey will be lost. If there is a lack of honey, the two bee colonies will fight, and it will be very difficult to merge them together.

God knows...