автор: Ишбердина Венера Рафаэлевна
учитель английского языка МБОУ «СОШ №6» ГО г.Кумертау РБ
Неопубликованная статья «Пчеловодство — хобби или спасение человечества?»
Beekeeping as a hobby or saving mankind?
The history of the Bashkir beekeeping.
There are many legends, tales, beliefs about «Bashkir honey», and for good reason. On the territory of Bashkiria, due to its unique location and landscape, more than 300 species of honey plants grow, many of which are medicinal herbs, including very rare ones, listed in the Red Book. Plant pollen carries all the best that plants can give to humans, and thanks to the hardworking bees who collect it from medicinal plants, we can enjoy a delicious and healthy delicacy.
Bashkir honey (in the Bashkir language sounds like Bashkort balls) is honey collected by bees on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Scientists associate one of the versions of the origin of the name «Bashkortostan» with an ancient craft — beekeeping, namely «bash» — «head», «court» — a bee. There is a high probability, confirmed by historical facts, that the modern name of the people of Bashkiria is due to the most ancient craft associated with one of the most delicious and healthy products on our planet — honey. Numerous historical evidences increase the viability of this version. So, in 1902, archaeologists found a burial ground on the territory of the modern Birsk region, the age of which is estimated at least 1,500 years. Items (complete set) were found in the burial ground, which were used in ancient times by beekeepers to collect natural delicacies from wild bees. A lot of evidence of the antiquity of beekeeping can also be found on the walls of caves, mainly in the modern Burzyan region, the so-called homeland of beekeeping. In modern days, in the vicinity of Burzyan, beekeeping has been preserved in its traditional form. The collection of honey from wild bees is carried out from natural natural hives — beehives (a hollow inhabited by wild bees in an old tree). Bashkiria is the only place on earth where it is collected from trees in which hollows are formed naturally.
Since ancient times, the Bashkirs began to develop beekeeping not only by searching for natural worms, but also by creating their artificial counterparts. They were located approximately at the height of a 4-5 storey building.
An alternative way to create an artificial hive for wild bees is to gouge the hive into logs. After processing and preparation, the decks were attached to the tree at the height of the modern 4-5 floors (10-15 m).
In spring, wild bees settled in artificial hives and collected plant nectar, which, after maturing, beekeepers removed from the hives. The heyday of Bashkir beekeeping fell on the XVIII-XIX centuries, when the most industrious and wealthy families of beekeepers kept up to 1000 hives. In those days, honey was equated with gold and hardworking Bashkirs or Russian peasants who were engaged in beekeeping were rich enough.
In modern Bashkiria, honey from wild bees sways only in September, closer to its middle.
By the way, having tasted Bashkir wild honey once, you will never confuse it with other varieties and fall in love with its unique aroma and taste.
An additional feature of the onboard delicacy collected from the wild is its heterogeneity. Wild bees collect nectar in a hollow without frames; as a result, it is impossible to pump it out without accompanying products (wax, bee bread, etc.). After ripening, all the contents are cut out of the hollow, which are then mixed and sold as a finished product.
Who is she — the Bashkir bee?
The origin of the popular name «Bashkir honey» is historically due to the Bashkir wild bee, which is called in another way Burzyan or bee. This is a species of the Central Russian bee (Apis mellifera mellifera L.), living in the forests of Bashkiria, in particular in the vicinity of Burzyan.
The Bashkir bee is distinguished from its other species, as well as varieties of the Central Russian (one of the most famous species, the product of which is the most valuable and was purchased abroad, including Europe, even in pre-revolutionary Russia for gold):
— high working capacity. Bees are able to work hard from sunrise to sunset in the summer, bringing up to 10 kg of nectar per day to the hive. The increased work capacity is especially valuable during the flowering period of linden (late June — first half of July. The total flowering period is no more than 2 weeks), which allows collecting large enough volumes of the most valuable pollen in a short period. Collecting nectar continues even during cold and rainy periods. The weather hardly affects its productivity. Bashkir linden honey or Lipets is one of the healthiest and tastiest types. The territory of Bashkiria is 1/3 covered with forests, most of which are linden trees (see our article — «Linden — the queen of melliferous plants»), according to various sources on the territory of Bashkiria up to 40% of all linden trees in Russia grow (1.1 million hectares out of 2 , 6 million hectares throughout Russia). Despite the great benefits of the «lipets», the disadvantage is a very short period of linden flowering, and it is the Burzyan bee that copes with the very difficult task of collecting in a short period of a good harvest;
— frost resistance. The Bashkir bee does not need outside help to survive in the cold winter in the most unfavorable conditions. She is not afraid of foulbrood, nosematosis, honeydew toxicosis. It is highly adaptable to any weather conditions.
— special viciousness. A bee in the wild has learned to protect itself from external influences — a man, a bear, a marten. Accordingly, work with hives is impossible without a suit, nets, and smoker.
— high ability to reproduce and swarm. A strong family for the season is able to release up to 2-3 swarms from itself, which populate new hollows, create new bee colonies and begin to bring a large harvest from the new season. Due to weather conditions, the harvested product has a high content of vitamins, trace elements, amino acids and enzymes. On the contrary, it contains little moisture. In the Bashkir delicacy, a high proportion of glucose and fructose (monosugar, readily assimilable by the human body) and a low proportion of sucrose (disachar, a sugar difficult to digest by humans) are always determined, which are much higher than the GOST indicators. These facts once again confirm its easy digestibility and usefulness for humans.
Geography of Bashkir beekeeping.
The features of the product from Bashkiria include not only a unique bee, which is no longer found anywhere in the world, but also a unique nature that is not repeated in any other region of the world:
— a combination of mountain ranges and vast plains,
— a large volume of forests about 2 million hectares, more than half of which are inhabited by linden trees,
— many rivers and lakes, including mountain ones with crystal clear water,
— a large number of places that are 100 km or more away from large industrial settlements,
— ideal weather conditions for harvesting, which allow not only to harvest a large crop, but also to «ripen» qualitatively,
— a variety of flora on a unique landscape, which determines its high value. More than 300 honey plants grow on the territory of Bashkiria, from which nectar is collected on an industrial scale by bees. No other region of Russia or even the world can boast of such a number of honey plants anymore. The use of processed nectar of medicinal plants in a form useful for assimilation is invaluable.
Honey plants of Bashkiria.
Bashkiria is the birthplace of many honey plants, the flowering periods of which fall at different times of the year: spring, summer and early autumn. Let’s consider the most valuable and common among them.
Spring honey plants
About 40 types of spring honey plants grow on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan:
willow — goat, blackening, white, ashy, etc.;
honeysuckle — fluffy and Tatar;
currants — red and black;
as well as other plants such as Norway maple, blood-red hawthorn, bird cherry, common mountain ash, etc.
Summer honey plants
Bashkiria is rich in summer honey plants — in summer over a hundred species of plants from herbaceous to trees bloom on the territory of the republic:
clover — white, pink and creeping;
Siberian hogweed;
small-leaved linden;
mouse peas.
And many other plants. Summer honey plants are the basis for the future production of honey on an industrial scale, and the main beekeeper is the linden, which grows in huge quantities on the territory of Bashkiria.
Autumn honey plants
The republic has about 30 species of late summer and autumn honey plants:
common bruise;
blooming Sally;
sweet clover white;
whorled sage;
alfalfa yellow;
common chicory, etc.
Bashkiria is provided with flowering plants for three out of four seasons, which allows local bees to produce honey almost all year round.
And of course, the key factor for collecting a high-quality and unique, in fact, special product is the history and culture of beekeeping in Bashkiria. Beekeeping traditions are passed down from generation to generation, this industry is one of the oldest in Bashkiria, and as we wrote above, evidence has already been found for the existence of beekeeping for more than 1,500 years. Beekeepers from other countries come to study traditions and technologies, including to restore the traditional wild beekeeping forgotten by other countries.
At the moment, Bashkiria is recognized as the leader of Russia in the production of honey. Regardless of the economic situation, the number of apiaries in the republic is constantly increasing. The beekeeping experience accumulated over the centuries, passed down from generation to generation, allows this industry to flourish.
On the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan, about 5-6 thousand tons of commercial Bashkir honey are annually produced, which is about 15-16 kg per one bee colony. The total gross harvest is about 12-15 thousand tons, the remaining honey remains for feeding the bee colonies.
Bashkir honey can be found on sale in China, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Mongolia, USA, Japan, India, Kuwait, Singapore, Turkey. In 2018, 53 tons of the product were exported. Exports are increasing annually.
According to the Bashkir branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Center of Agroanalytics», in 2020 Bashkiria exported 47.5 tons of honey for 195 thousand dollars (in 2019 — 17.6 tons for 87.5 thousand dollars). This accounted for 1.6% of the volume and 3.7% of the value of Russia’s total honey exports in 2020.
Bashkir honey was exported to Canada, South Korea, China, USA, Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. In addition, a trial batch of beekeeping products: 0.4 tons of onboard honey, 100 kg of centrifugal linden honey and 4 kg of adsorbed royal jelly powder was supplied to the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Bashkir Research Center for Beekeeping and Apitherapy, another batch of bee products will be sent to the UAE in 2021. Bashkir LLC «Medovz» is preparing a batch of honey in the amount of 4.6 million rubles in 2021. for export to South Korea, Morocco and Japan.
Beekeeping problems in Bashkiria.
However, despite the fact that Bashkiria is the titan of beekeeping in the Russian Federation, it is also not without problems and difficulties. These problems are especially noticeable for novice beekeepers:
Monopolization.
A significant part of the market, as well as the positive attention from the authorities of the republic, is occupied by the above-mentioned Bashkir Research Center for Beekeeping and Apitherapy. This is fraught with the fact that legislation is primarily on the side of the center, and not of individual entrepreneurs. In addition, it is often too difficult for novice beekeepers to compete with such a giant.
Technological backwardness.
Despite the fact that beekeeping is very well developed in Bashkiria, it still takes a long time before the latest technologies reach the republic.
Deforestation.
This problem is relevant for many industries, especially agricultural, but for honey production it plays a special role. The difficulty is obvious: the fewer honey trees, the less honey will be produced as a result.
Treatment of vegetation with insecticidal agents.
Leads to mass death of bees. In addition, traces of these chemicals are later found in honey.
A short list of breeding apiaries engaged in breeding the Bashkir population of honey bees.
High prices for breeding material.
Lack of control over the importation of bee colonies and queens into the Republic of Bashkortostan from other regions and from abroad. It leads to the crossing of species, and, as a result, a loss of qualities of the Bashkir breeds of honey bees is formed.
«If bees disappear on Earth, humanity will have 4 years to live.»
This quote is attributed to the famous physicist Albert Einstein. Although this is not true, I agree with this statement, like many beekeepers in the country. After all, if there are no bees, then the plants will not be pollinated, respectively, there will be no cereals and other plants, fruit trees, berries, and just food. As a result, famine will come, the economy will collapse, wars will begin for «a piece of bread» and humanity, and all living things, will perish.
Why bees die is not yet clear. There are only assumptions. Perhaps this is due to the chemicals used to treat the fields, or because of new viruses and fungi that mutate, or because of the high technologies that are stuffed with our Earth, knocking bees off course with their waves.
Based on the above, maybe humanity should think about our small but very important neighbors, and therefore about our future?
Sources:
1.https://moyamedovnya.com/2018/12/20/bashkirskij-med/
2.https: //extremal.mirtesen.ru/blog/43557606359/-Esli-na-Zemle-ischeznut-pchelyi-chelovechestvu-ostanetsya-zhit-
3.https://zen.yandex.ru/media/pchelovod/bashkiriia-na-mirovom-rynke-meda-60b8b5aca4130e22bcf32349
4.https://ferma.expert/pchely/razvedenie-pchely/pchelovodstvo-v-bashkirii/
- L.L. Langstroth «The Bee and the Hive» 1909
- Kuzminykh A.P. «Learn Beekeeping from Bees» 2013
