Colonial Beekeepers Association BEGINNING BEEKEEPING DAY 2 Sponsored by the Colonial Beekeepers Association

Honey Bee Biology and Colony Organization This lesson will be on Honey Bee Biology and Colony Organization Let’s begin by discussing BASIC honey bee biology

Apis mellifera The scientific name for the western honey bee. You will see the word honey bee spelled as two words and as a single word.  But it is correct to spell it as two words like House fly, and bumble bee.  The genus Apis is Latin for "bee", The species mellifera comes from Latin melli- "honey" and ferre "to bear“ —hence the scientific name means "honey-bearing bee". Then comes the subspecies: dark bee (A. m. mellifera), Italian bees (A. m. ligustica), African subspecies A. m. scutellata, Currently, there are only seven recognized species of honey bee with a total of 44 subspecies Apis dorsata, the giant honey bee Apis cerana, the Eastern honey bee proper

Basic Honey Bee Biology Honey bees are INSECTS Invertabret animal having an exosketeton They have 3 body parts; Head, Thorax, and Abdomen They have 3 pairs of jointed legs They have 2 compound eyes and 3 simple eyes (ocelli) They have 2 antennae Specialization of function: HEAD contains the main sensory structures: antennae, eyes, mouth – antenna are used for touch, smell, taste and hearing; eyes for seeing mosaic images that detect movement better than high resolution images; mouth consists of mandibles (like teeth) and proboscis (sucking) THORAX supports the mobility structures: 4 wings; forewing and hindwing, 3 pairs of legs ABDOMEN contains the digestive tract, reparatory tract, reproductive organs, 6 wax glands, sting

Colony Organization Eusocial Honey Bees are Highly Socialized Insects Under natural conditions they nest in cavities and build multiple combs. Now to move on to Colony Organization Eusocial

The Players (castes) Queen - female Workers - female Drones - male Honey bees enlist a caste system to accomplish the tasks that ensure survival of the colony. Each member of the community fulfills a need that serves the group. Tens of thousands of worker bees, all females, assume responsibility for feeding, cleaning, nursing, and defending the group. Male drones live only to pass on the genetics of their colony by mating, Queen is the only fertile female in the colony.

The inhabitants of the hive Together they are the inhabitants of what we call a “HIVE”

The Queen Profile The queen is a mature, fertile female. She lays thousands of eggs during her life time.  A queen has the longest live span in the colony living for years versus months.  She is normally larger than the other bees in the hive and has a slim torpedo shape.  She does have a stinger, but uses it to kill other queens. Under normal conditions a hive will have only one queen. The queen is a mature female.  She lays thousands of eggs during her life time.  Can produce 1,500 eggs per day or more at the height of the brood season A queen has the longest live span in the colony living for years versus months.  Can live for 2-5 yrs She is normally larger than the other bees in the hive and has a slim torpedo shape.  Only actively reproducing female She does have a stinger, but uses it to kill other queens. Under normal conditions a hive will have only one queen.

Queen Profile One queen (normally) Only actively reproducing female Can produce 1,500 eggs per day or more at the height of the brood season Can live for 2-5 yrs M. Frazier

Some Facts About the Queen Bee She develops from a fertilized egg. She mates with many drones to produce fertilized eggs. She is the mother of all the bees in the hive. Her role in the hive is to produce eggs and to release pheromone signals within the hive. She does have a stinger, but uses it to kill other queens.

Worker Profile Female but typically not able to reproduce A colony will have 20,000 - 60,000 Live for 4-6 weeks in summer, 4-5 months in winter M. Frazier

Workers Worker bees are sexually underdeveloped females. They may number as many as 60,000 in a colony. They are called workers because that is what they do. Female worker bees under certain conditions can lay eggs but because they are not mated, they produce eggs that only develop into drones. Worker bees are sexually underdeveloped females. They may number as many as 60,000 in a colony. The population of a colony depends on a number of factors such as: the egg laying ability of the queen, the space available in the hive (area where the bees live) and the incoming food supply. They are called workers because that is what they do. They collect food and water for the colony, build wax comb, do the housework, maintain the interior temperatures of the hive and guard the hive against intruders [in other words: they can sting]. Female worker bees under certain conditions can lay eggs but because they are not mated, they produce eggs that only develop into drones.

Some Facts About Worker Bees Develops from a fertilized egg A worker bee spends its first 20 days in the hive performing various task – cleaning cells, feeding young larva, building wax comb, etc. She defends the hive. She has a stinger, but can sting only once. She dies soon after stinging. The worker bee also has pollen baskets on her rear legs to gather and collect pollen while she is foraging for nectar outside the hive. Wax comes from 4 pairs of wax glands under the abdomen. Worker bees are sexually underdeveloped females. They may number as many as 60,000 in a colony. The population of a colony depends on a number of factors such as: the egg laying ability of the queen, the space available in the hive (area where the bees live) and the incoming food supply. They are called workers because that is what they do. They collect food and water for the colony, build wax comb, do the housework, maintain the interior temperatures of the hive and guard the hive against intruders [in other words: they can sting]. Female worker bees under certain conditions can lay eggs but because they are not mated, they produce eggs that only develop into drones.

Meet the Drone bee Drones are the males in the colony. Note the general shape of the drone. Notice two things: The head is large and the eyes predominate the head. The rear-end of the drone is rounded --they have no stinger and can not sting.   Although they are usually considered worthless, they  contribute to the continuation of  one generation to the next generation. Males -sexually mature at 2 weeks Mate with female virgin queens Mate in flight Upon mating they die Forced out of the hive in late fall

Some Facts About the Drone Bee The drone is the male bee in the hive. He develops from an unfertilized egg. Meaning he is passing on genetic material from his mother only. He provides ½ of the genetic material in worker bees. His life span depends on the health of the colony. During poor honey flows and honey shortages, drones may be driven from the hive. This happens at the onset of winter as well. Drones can be created by laying worker honey bees.

Among Females - Reproduction Division of Labor Among Females - Reproduction Among Workers – All the work of the hive except laying eggs Based on two things: The age of the bee The needs of the colony It’s highly elastic The queen lays the eggs and the workers WORK!

Nurse bees 1 - 12 days Self-grooming Cell cleaning Feeding brood

House Bees 10-20 days old Comb building Hive cleaning Accepting nectar and pollen from foragers Undertakers Hive guarding Climate control M. Frazier

Field Bees From about 20 days until death (30-45 days) Collect Nectar Pollen Water Plant resins M. Frazier

Biological Information All honey bees come from eggs. All honey bees develop into larva. All honey bees go thru something called Metamorphosis. The development times for all honey bees differ by caste. Lets look at each of these.

Development Complete Metamorphosis Egg Larva Pupa Adult Dadant and Sons

The development times for all honey bees differ by Beekeeping Math The development times for all honey bees differ by Cast and Gender Caste Hatch Cap Emerge Queen 3½ days 8 days +-1 16 days +-1 Laying 28 days +-5 Worker 3½ days 9 days +-1 20 days +-1 Foraging 42 days +-7 Drone 3½ days 10 days +-1 24 days +-1 Flying to DCA 38 days +-5

The development times for all honey bees differ by Beekeeping Math The development times for all honey bees differ by Cast and Gender Egg Larva Pupa Total 3 5.5 7.5 16 3 6 12 21 3 6.5 14.5 24 Queen Worker Drone

Development M. Frazier

All honey bees come from eggs A queen honey bee can lay over 2000 eggs in a single 24 hour period. If your math is good, multiply this by 10, 20, 30, and 40 days the general life span of worker bees. Eggs are deposited into cells. 2,000 x 40 = 80,000

All honey bees develop into larva Larva in cells look somewhat like little worms. The body is composed of a head plus 13 ring-like divisions or segments. It grows to fill the cell very quickly. Between the day it emerges from the egg until it reaches the fifth day of development, it will grow six times it’s body weight during each 24 hour period of development. Healthy larva are white in color.

Then a Pupa.. M. Frazier

The cells of honey bees differ by caste                                                                                             Queen cells Worker cell Drone cells

The development times for all honey bees differ by Beekeeping Math The development times for all honey bees differ by Cast and Gender Caste Hatch Cap Emerge Queen 3½ days 8 days +-1 16 days +-1 Laying 28 days +-5 Worker 3½ days 9 days +-1 20 days +-1 Foraging 42 days +-7 Drone 3½ days 10 days +-1 24 days +-1 Flying to DCA 38 days +-5

Fertilized Eggs Unfertilized Eggs Female Male Worker Queen

Fertilized vs. Unfertilized Worker cells vs. Drone Cells Worker M. Frazier Drone

All fertilized eggs have the potential to become Queens Worker vs. Queen All fertilized eggs have the potential to become Queens Royal Jelly Three Days as Larvae The first S. Camazine

Eggs and Larva

When is a new queen made? Swarming – Normal hive reproduction. Swarming should be avoided. Supersedure – Replace an old or failing Queen Emergency – When something happens to the Queen???

In all cases these fertilized larvae are Housed in larger cells Fed large amounts of royal jelly throughout larval life M. Frazier

Queen Cells Supercedure cells are queen cells found along the center of a given frame. Swarm cells are found clinging to the bottom of the brood frame and are used to rear a SECOND QUEEN

In Swarming The old queen participates in the requeening process D. Sammataro

In An Emergency Situation The old queen does Not participate in Re-queeing process M. Frazier

NEW Virgin Queen Seeks out cells and kills developing queens If others queens have emerged, queens fight to the death After a few days she makes her mating flight, mating with 7-14 drones Returns and after a few days begins to lay eggs M. Frazier

What happens if the returning queen doesn’t make it Back?

Introduce a NEW Queen Get a new queen or Make a new queen D. Sammataro

If not, what happens... S. Camazine

A colony of drones Hopelessly Queenless M. Frazier

Any Questions ???