Dividing grid for bees: purpose, description, rules of use, dimensions

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Probably, any person who has been engaged in beekeeping for more than a year has heard of such a device as a dividing grid for bees. It provides many important benefits when used correctly. Therefore, every beginner who is just starting to master such a difficult but exciting activity as beekeeping should learn about it.

Grate dimensions

The dimensions of the dividing grid for bees are exactly the same as the size of a standard hive - 44.8 x 43.2 centimeters. However, sometimes the size is reduced by half - in this case, the lattice is not square, but rectangular. This makes it easier to install and remove the grate.

Thickness can vary from fractions of a millimeter to several millimeters, depending on the material used.

The size of the cell of the dividing grid for bees also changes, but this depends on the country-manufacturer. For example, those made in Russia have holes 4.5 mm wide. But created in England, which has not fully switched from the usual system to the metric one, this figure is 4.572 millimeters.

Why is it needed?

Now it's worth telling you why you need a dividing grid for bees. Of course, its main purpose is to limit the freedom of the uterus. This is very useful in several cases.

The most important thing is the separation of the uterus from the store. The frames here are usually used exclusively for collecting honey - they are easy to remove, bringing a minimum of confusion to the life of the bees. However, how to explain this to the uterus? After all, she crawls along all the frames, laying eggs in those cells that will be "at hand".

This is where the grid comes in handy. The size of 4.5 millimeters was not chosen at all by chance. It has long been observed that an ordinary worker bee can easily crawl into a gap of 4.1 millimeters. If it is filled with nectar and swollen, you need a gap of 4.3 millimeters. With a margin, a distance of 4.5 millimeters is taken. Even the largest worker bees can easily crawl through it. But for a larger uterus, the passage through such a gap is closed - it will not squeeze through with all its desire.

Thus, laid on the frames in the main hive located under the store, the lattice allows the bees to freely climb into the store frames without letting the queen through. This ensures that all the eggs are only placed in frames in the hive. The store ones will be filled exclusively with honey - the eggs will definitely not get here. This allows you to confidently use them to extract the sweet product without causing unnecessary damage to the swarm.

It may also come in handy when preparing the wintering of bees with a dividing grid. A beekeeper, seeing frames completely filled with honey, can easily calculate how much should be left for a particular hive (depending on the approximate number of bees) in order for the colony to overwinter normally, manage without losses and easily start collecting fresh honey in the spring.

Swarming protection

Another important advantage of keeping bees with a dividing grid is protection against swarming. In this case, it is enough to use a fragment of the old grid and close the notch. The queen simply will not be able to squeeze through the net, which means that the bees accompanying her will also not leave - the swarm will not come out and will not be lost. This is especially important in cases where the beekeeper needs to leave the apiary for several days or at least hours at a time when the bees are close to swarming.

By the way, another interesting trick, which is possible thanks to the dividing bars, is a two-column content. As you know, two queens, having met in one hive, will fight to the death, while worker bees are ready to coexist peacefully. Thus, you can leave the old uterus in the lower part of the hive, and place the young one in the upper one. Then the first will habitually work, laying eggs. The young one makes the first mating flights, masters its possessions, prepares for laying eggs. A few weeks later, when it comes into force, the old uterusis removed, and the young one replaces her - she moves down and effectively copes with her duties.

It is also possible to keep bees with a dividing grid in two housings - it is very similar to the one described above, with the only difference that the old queen is not removed, but continues to work effectively. Thus, the beekeeper has the opportunity to keep two bee families in one hive with a store.

Which material to choose

Today, dividing grids are made of different materials. First of all, these are wire, plastic and a metal plate.

The former are reliable, durable and easy to use, but require some care when handling.

Plastic is cheap and light, but can be easily damaged by handling - extra care must be taken.

Finally, metal - tin or zinc - are not very safe for the bees themselves. Therefore, they are discontinued - only old stock or second-hand products can be seen for sale.

Cons of application

Disadvantages of dividing grids are usually associated not with them themselves, but with their incorrect use or poor-quality manufacturing.

First of all, let's mention metal - discontinued - gratings. Often, manufacturers, in order to reduce costs, simply tried to use the thinnest plates possible, and the care of the edges left much to be desired. Therefore, the bees were injured on sharp, jagged edges (they may seem even to a person, but fortiny workers, the slightest scratch is enough) and perished.

Plastic grilles often break - they cannot boast of high strength, therefore, attached with wax to the frame or case, they can be broken. When working with metal, this problem is solved with a hair dryer, which softens the wax. When working with plastic products, you cannot use a hair dryer - not only the wax, but also the grate itself can soften.

Finally, wire, for all its strength, can be damaged during transportation or installation. As a result, the gap between the two rods will increase slightly - for example, up to 5-5.5 millimeters. To an inexperienced beekeeper, such a change will not say anything. And the professionals will obviously not like it.

How to install correctly

To ensure that keeping bees in beds with a dividing grid does not cause unnecessary problems, you need to know exactly how to lay it.

To begin with, it is recommended to lay it in such a way that the slots go across the frames. Otherwise, the bees will begin to build bridges over them, gradually making the lattice completely impassable. They will not be able to enter the store and will fill the frames in the hive itself with honey, and the frame is used just to keep honey and eggs from mixing.

Laying the grate directly on the frames is not worth it - you need to leave a gap of at least 6-8 millimeters so that the bees move freely from one structure to another. The easiest way to achieve this is by laying small wooden or plastic bars around the perimeter of the frames and laying the gratealready on them. At the same time, the risk that the bees will cover the grate with wax is reduced.

Pros of making your own grille

Alas, today it is not always easy to find a quality dividing grid. Some manufacturers, trying to cut costs, use cheap, poor quality materials. Others cannot withstand the technology and supply gratings with slots not 4, 5, but 4, 8 mm to the market, due to which their efficiency is reduced to zero. Finally, those manufacturers who use high-quality and safe materials, clearly maintaining the technology, set a rather high price for their products.

That is why many experienced beekeepers prefer to make dividing grids for bees with their own hands. This allows you to get products that fully meet your requirements, are affordable and completely safe.

What tools will you need

The easiest way to make a wire grate at home. With proper care, it can last for many years. In addition, even if the bars are deformed, they can be easily restored by inserting a knife between them and applying slight pressure to restore the original shape and width of the slots.

To work, you will first need a frame or wooden blocks and aluminum or galvanized wire - it is very important that it is not susceptible to rust. Tools are also needed: a hammer, nails, wire cutters, pliers, a ruler and small nails.

When everything you need is at hand, you canget to work.

Doing work

First of all, you need to make a frame - a frame of wooden bars. Make sure that it easily enters the hive without getting stuck anywhere, but at the same time leaving no gaps even half a centimeter - otherwise its use becomes simply pointless.

Using a ruler, mark the narrow side of the frame - pencil marks should be made at a distance of about 4.5 millimeters. Of course, there will be a small error due to the thickness of the wire. But a gap of 4.45 mm is enough for a worker bee, even loaded with nectar, to crawl through without difficulty. The main thing is that the distance should not be more than 4.5 mm.

The next step is to drive in small wallpaper nails in the marked places. It is advisable to use thin, long nails so as not to split the frame.

Finally, it remains only to wind the wire around the nails. It is not necessary to cut it - it is better to just fix it on the first nail, then pass through the rest, alternating nails on different sides, and wrap it around the last one, after which you can use soldering for a more secure fixation.

Here it is very important to ensure that the wire is carefully stretched and does not loosen over time.

That's all - the frame is ready and can be used in the hive, effectively coping with the intended purpose.

Who invented the dividing grid?

For a long time there has been a debate about who first came up with the idea of using a dividing grid in hives. Some experts are inclined to believe that the author of this useful device wasFrançois Guber is a Swiss beekeeper. Others claim that he only noted the difference in the size of the queens and worker bees, and the lattices themselves were developed by the Russian beekeeper P. Prokopovich.

And yet, the lattice was widely used thanks to the Brazilian beekeeper Ganiman - it is no coincidence that for a long time they were called Ganiman's. He proved their effectiveness and made them popular all over the world.

Conclusion

This concludes our article. Now you know how to use the dividing grids, and also have an idea about the correct installation. If necessary, the reader can easily make a high-quality grate with his own hands.