Hi everybody,
my name is (Mr) Zeljko Stamatovic, 35 years old, 18 in beekeeping, hobbyist. Dadant-Blatt-10 frames.
greetings from Serbia
Welcome to the site!
Welcome. What race/kind of bees are you raising there?
We are raising Apis Melifera Carnica (it's not aggressive bee, a lot of honey and very fast spring growth. This year were a lot swarms) and Italian Apis Melifera Ligustica. You can find about it on wikipedia. It's not allowed here to put web address. South-East Europe.
Beneficial of A.M. Carnica
Considered to be gentle and non-aggressive
Can be kept in populated areas.
Sense of orientation considered better than the Italian honey bee race
Less drifting of bees from one hive to a neighboring hive
When compared to the Italian race, they are not as prone to rob honey
Able to overwinter in smaller numbers of winter bees; honey stores are conserved.
Able to quickly adapt to changes in the environment
Better for areas with long winters
Rhythm of brood production very steep. Brood rearing is reduced when available forage decreases
Low use of propolis
Resistant to brood diseases
For areas with strong spring nectar flow and early pollination
Forage earlier in the morning and later in the evening, and on cool, wet days.
Workers live up to 12% longer than other breeds
Not beneficial
More prone to swarming if overcrowded
Low ability to thrive in hot summer weather
Strength of broodnest more dependent on availability of pollen
Unless marked the dark queen is difficult to find
this is from wikipedia
you'll be able to post links and pictures when you have more posts. it's a security thing :-)
i will look forward to seeing your setup and hearing more about beekeeping in Serbia.
welcome to the site.
Welcome to Beemaster. What is your weather like? We are running from a low of 75 degrees F during the night to 99 during the day.
Jim
Welcome to the forum.
I was in LA, eights year ago, a lot of Americans never heard about Serbia. It is small country, about 8000000 population, without Kosovo.
Please visit wikipedia
weather
The Serbian climate varies between a continental climate in the north, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy inland snowfall. Differences in elevation, proximity to the Adriatic Sea and large river basins, as well as exposure to the winds account for climate differences.[1] Vojvodina possesses typical continental climate, with air masses from northern and western Europe which shape its climatic profile. South and South-west Serbia is subject to Mediterranean influences. However, the Dinaric Alps and other mountain ranges contribute to the cooling down of most of the warm air masses. Winters are quite harsh in Sandžak because of the mountains which encircle the plateau.[2] Mediterranean micro-regions exist throughout southern Serbia[3], in Zlatibor[4] and the Pčinja District around valley and river Pčinja[5]. The average annual air temperature for the period 1961–90 for the area with an altitude of up to 300 m (984 ft) is 10.9 °C (51.6 °F). The areas with an altitude of 300 to 500 m (984 to 1,640 ft) have an average annual temperature of around 10.0 °C (50.0 °F), and over 1,000 m (3,281 ft) of altitude around 6.0 °C (42.8 °F).[6] The lowest recorded temperature in Serbia was −39.5 °C (−39.1 °F) (January 13, 1985, Karajukića Bunari in Pešter), and the highest was 44.9 °C or 112.8 °F (July 24, 2007, Smederevska Palanka).
I would like to write about beekeeping here. It is traditional job, many houses in villages have beehives. It was mini skep hives in the start of 20th century. Now most of beekeepers use Dadant-Blath, Langstroth, Farrar and Anton-Znidaric bee hives. Last one is for pavilion beekeeping, with two same bodies, 10 or 11 frames in each. Opening of hive is from rear side. 'cause it we use that hive for pavilion beekeeping.
There are mostly 3 Melliferous plants (acacia tree May 05-30., lime tree June 15-30. and sunflower June 25.-August 01. ) and mountain plants (June 01. - July 20. extending to August 01. Last one is long, but nectar yield is small.).
Beekeepers here don't do pollination, it's not paid job. Mainly products are honey and pollen, small quantity of propolis, and Royal jelly. Also, production of queen is very represented.
Keep in mind, Serbia is small country, with 30000 beekeepers and about 500000 bee colonies. Over 100 hives has 3% of apiarist, 50-100 has 7%. Beekeeping is hobby, second time job. Production of honey is about 18kg (40 Lbs) per hive. Total production of honey is about 3500-4000 tones per year. Half of that quantity we export to EU.
regards
Welcom to the forum. :cheer: -Mike
:cheer: