Lietuvos bitynai: dabartis ir ateities vizija
LTStraipsnyje aptariama bitininkystės kaip kultūrinio paveldo ir verslo situacija XXI a. pradžios Lietuvoje. Dabar bitininkyste užsiima pagyvenę žmonės: 76,0 proc. jau sulaukusių daugiau nei 50 m., net 58,9 proc. pensininkų, dirbančiųjų - tik 22,5 proc., bitininkaujančių ūkininkų - 17,0 proc. Vyrauja vidurinio išsilavinimo bičiuliai - 32,9 proc., aukštąjį mokslą baigusių - 17,0 proc., aukštąjį mokslą su bitininkystės kursu - tik 3,5 proc. Daugiausia produkcijos iš bičių šeimos surenka 10-20 m. bitininkavimo stažą turintys arba jauni - 20-30 m. - bitininkai. Daugiausia medaus iš bičių šeimos surenkama bitynuose, kur bitininkaujama dėl pomėgio ir kur medus naudojamas tik šeimos reikmėms.
ENDuring the period 2006-2008 we visited and appraised the situation in 361 apiaries of Lithuania. The questionnaire included 38 questions. We received 351 responses. The analysis of the response showed, that most of the beekeepers were more than 50 years old (76.0 %), 58.9 % were pensioners, 22.5 % were working, 17.0 % fanners. Most of the respondents hold a secondary education certificate (32.9 %), a university diploma 17.0 %, and a university diploma including a course on beekeeping only 3.5%. The 50.1 % of the respondents are hobby bee-keepers and use honey for family needs (29.5 %), 31.5 % of the respondents indicated beekeeping as a sourse of extra income. Only 2.5 % of the respondents stated that beekeeping generates their main income. Small apiaries with up to 10 bee colonies dominate (account for 24.5 %), apiaries with more than 100 colonics account for 1.0 %, and those with 200 to 500 colonies account for only 0.5 % of the total beekeepers interviewed. Over 67.0 % apiaries use queens of unknown hybrids. Requeening is not used in the 66.8 % of the apiaries - the bees regenerate queens by themselves. About half of the beekeepers indicated that their bees are not aggressive but characterised by moderate or high propensity to swarming 32.9 % and 36.2 %, respectively. No re-queening and propensity to swarming are the main factors responsible for low honey production: 32.9 % of the apiaries collected to 20 kg honey per colony, only 5 % of beekeepers gain 50 kg/colony. Dadant type hives with 1 super are used in most of the apiaries, 58.6 % of the hives are obsolete and have been used for more than 15 years. Only 2.9 % of the beekeepers transport part of the apiary to the areas with melliferous plants, all apiary 2 beekeepers (0.7 %). 85.3 % of the apiaries are situated near beekeepers' homes, 19.1% have stationary sections further away from their place of residence (mostly urban residents).Bee brood diseases were found in 60 apiaries, but this number may be higher, because most respondents are not able to identify and diagnose these problems. For varoa treatment, 87.0 % of the beekeepers use effective remedies - strips with acaricides.
