Beekeeping Phrases-Each Beekeeper Ought to Know

Africanized Honey Bees

Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) are a hybrid created when queens of Apis mellifera scutellata escaped a analysis challenge in Brazil.  This race of bee was in a position to mate and reproduce with the prevailing European Honey Bees within the area. 

Through the years, AHB have migrated northward and are current in lots of Southern elements of the US.  Dubbed “Killer Bees” by the media, AHB are very similar to our common honey bees in lots of regards however they’re much extra defensive and pose a risk to public security.

Abscond

When all the colony leaves their hive, that is known as an abscond.  There are a number of causes bees could abscond from the hive.  Illness, pest infestations and fixed trouble are among the many most typical causes.

Alarm Pheromone

Pheromones are utilized by bees for communication. The honey bee alarm pheromone (iso-pentyl acetate) is launched by guard bees when the hive is below assault.  With the scent of bananas, this chemical messenger calls the troops to defend the hive.

American Foulbrood (AFB)

American Foulbrood (AFB) is a spore forming bacterial illness of bee brood.  This illness is extremely contagious and the spores can stay on tools for greater than 50 years. In some areas, hives with AFB should be destroyed by regulation.

Apiary

An apiary is a location the place honey bees are saved.  They arrive in all sizes from a few hives within the yard to industrial apiaries with hundreds of colonies. Sure, even you probably have solely 2 hives – that’s your apiary.

Attendants

The time period attendants normally refers to employee bees that take care of the queen bee.  Within the hive, the attendants kind the queen’s retinue.  When a beekeeper buys a queen in a cage, she usually has a couple of attendants inside to take care of her.

Balling the Queen

When bees kind a ball across the queen bee, that is known as “balling the queen”.  This could occur if a brand new queen is launched within the hive too quickly and end in her demise.  However, it doesn’t all the time end in demise, bees can enclose their queen in a ball to guard her.

Bait Hive

A bait hive is a field or construction that’s positioned in a location in hopes of catching a bee swarm.  The beekeeper could construct a easy field to function a bait hive.  Another choice is to make use of and older hive field with a small piece of outdated comb to lure within the swarm.

Bearding Bees

Bearding refers to a mass of bees that accumulates on the entrance of the hive on heat, humid days.  Bee bearding most frequently takes place within the Summer time and is an try to chill this colony. It isn’t essentially an indication of swarm preparations.

Bee Bread

Bee bread is the time period usually given to bee pollen that’s saved within the hive.  Recent pollen is difficult to digest and spoils simply.  When it’s transformed to bee bread by means of the addition of bee saliva, it turns into a nutritious protein supply appropriate for storage.

Brood

Bee brood refers to creating bees within the colony.  Eggs, larvae and pupa are all thought of brood.  Open or “milk brood” are bees within the larval stage.  As soon as the larval stage ends, the cells are closed with a wax high turning into “capped brood”.

Bee Area

Bee area is the quantity of area that bees usually maintain between their comb- ¼”-3/8”.  A smaller area is more likely to be propolized closed and a big area normally crammed with comb.

Brood Nest

The brood nest is the a part of the hive the place younger bees are being reared.  It’s usually situated within the backside field of the hive known as the brood chamber.  Nonetheless, the brood nest can change location all year long.

Brood Sample

Typically used to guage the standing of the queen bee, the brood sample refers to approach brood is specified by the comb.  Total, brood of the identical age are situated shut collectively.  Eggs are close to eggs, larva close to larva and the identical for capped brood.  A good brood sample has few empty cells in and among the many brood.

Burr Comb

Burr or Brace comb are bits of comb that bees construct to fill in any empty areas.  Typically these bits of comb join 2 adjoining frames of comb. 

Burr comb will be discovered anyplace within the hive the place the bee area measurements are off.  A lot of these comb make hive inspections harder.

Cappings

Cappings discuss with gentle coloration wax that’s used to cowl full cells of honey.  When honey is harvested, the cappings are eliminated to permit liquid honey to circulation out.  Cappings wax is among the highest quality wax and is extremely prized.

Cleaning Flight

Wholesome honey bees don’t defecate contained in the hive.  On heat days, the bees fly outdoors the hive close to the doorway to expel wastes.  That is regular bee conduct.  If there may be snow on the bottom, don’t be alarmed by the presence of quite a lot of yellow spots.

Cluster

In a cluster, numerous bees cling collectively in a mass.  With honey bees this normally happens in 2 situations.  A swarm of bees will cluster in a close-by tree or bush when first leaving the hive and earlier than going to their new dwelling.

In Winter, the bee cluster permits the colony to preserve and generate warmth. The Winter Cluster approach is how honey bees survive the chilly temperatures.

Comb

A chunk (or sheets) of beeswax constructed by honey bees to carry retailer meals or rear younger.  The time period honeycomb is commonly used as properly.

Beeswax is produced by glands on the underside of younger employee bees.  It’s formed right into a 2-sided sheet of hexagonal cells. Younger bees are the finest comb builders.

Drawn Comb

Drawn comb is the beekeeping time period used to discuss with a hive body that’s crammed with completed beeswax comb. It must be full with all of the wax cell completed and prepared to be used by the hive.

The time period is commonly confused with (Drone Comb). Drone comb is an space that accommodates solely drone sized wax cells. These two examples of beekeeping terminology are very completely different however sound related.

Drifting

Bees situated in an apiary can turn into confused and go into the incorrect hive.  That is known as drifting.  Beekeepers usually try to cut back drifting by portray hives completely different colours or portray symbols on the entrance of the hive.

Drone Bee

A male honey bee that develops from an unfertilized bee egg is a drone bee.  Drones are haploid containing solely half the chromosomes of their sisters.  Drones are normally reared in drone cells which might be barely bigger than common employee cells.

Drone Brood

Cells that include creating drone or male honey bees are known as drone brood cells.  Drones are bigger than employee bees.  Due to this fact, drone brood protrudes from farther from the floor of the comb – giving the attribute bullet form.

Festooning

When younger grownup bees which might be engorged with honey dangle in chains from the highest of a sheet of comb, that is known as festooning.  These bees are excreting wax and utilizing the wax scales to construct comb.

Foragers

Foragers are additionally known as “area bees”.  These are feminine employee bees that go away the hive every day looking for sources wanted by the colony. 

Foragers are usually about 3 weeks outdated and can proceed on this job till their demise.  They convey nectar, pollen, propolis and water again to the hive.

Basis

Sheets of basis are inserted into frames that match contained in the hive bins.  Embossed cells on the floor of basis guides comb constructing. 

Basis could also be beeswax or plastic and each can work properly within the hive.  Some beekeepers favor one kind over the opposite.

Honeyflow

The honeyflow is the time of yr when plentiful nectar is offered in your area.  That is when bees are in a position to make honey for themselves and the beekeeper. 

Ask native beekeeper when the honeyflow happens in your area as it’s completely different in every locale. Some areas have a number of honey flows in a yr and others could solely have 1.

Honey Home

A honey home is a constructing used to course of harvested honey.  Contained in the extracting and bottling of the crop takes place.  In some states, a honey home should be inspected by the division of agriculture.

Laying Staff

Laying staff just isn’t a scenario favored by beekeepers. Employee bees are females that aren’t able to mating.  Due to this fact, they can’t lay fertilized eggs. 

Nonetheless, in conditions the place a colony has been with out a queen bee or brood for a protracted while-workers could start to put eggs.

These unfertilized eggs will turn into drones that don’t work and finally the colony will fail.  Maybe that is natures option to a minimum of launch among the colony’s DNA into the world.

Nurse Bees

Nurse bees are younger employee bees that care for all of the creating brood within the hive.  They’re normally between 5 and 10 days outdated however this could range.  After serving as nurse bees for a couple of weeks, they are going to go on to do different duties for the colony.

Pheromone

Pheromones are exterior chemical substances that bees launch to speak with different members of their species.  That is a method that guard bees are in a position to acknowledge returning members of their hive.  The queen additionally has particular pheromones that establish her presence.

Propolis

Propolis, additionally known as bee-glue, is a sticky resinous substance that bees acquire from timber and crops. Conifer timber are wonderful sources of propolis.  It’s collected and caught onto the pollen baskets of employee bees – similar to pollen.

Again within the hive, propolis is used for a lot of functions together with sealing and cracks within the hive.  Propolis has anti-microbial properties and contributes to a wholesome colony.  Nonetheless, each beekeeper learns the frustration of eradicating frames which might be caught down with quite a lot of propolis.

Queen Bee

The queen honey bee is a mated feminine bee that lays eggs for the colony.  Along with laying as much as 1000 eggs a day within the heat season, she produces queen pheromones that stabilize the colony.

Queen Cell

A queen cell is a big peanut-shaped cell that protrudes from the comb vertically.  Bees assemble the particular cells to carry a creating queen and loads of meals for her.  The queen bee develops from an egg in 16 days and emerges from the underside of the queen cell.

Queen Cup

The queen cup is a small acorn formed wax cup.  It could or could not ever be developed into a daily queen cell.  Some colonies maintain a couple of queen cups in place by means of out the season. 

There appears to be a genetic hyperlink to what number of cups are in a hive.  As soon as the queen lays an egg within the cup – it’s a “charged queen cup” and has now turn into an official queen cell.

Queenright

A colony that’s queenright has a laying queen.  Whether or not she is one of the best queen on the planet or not, she is producing a minimum of some employee brood and appears to be in good well being.

Robbing

Honey bee robbing conduct is when bees from one colony steal honey from one other.  That is normally a powerful colony with a big inhabitants that overwhelms a small colony.  Robbing can proceed for days till the smaller colony is lifeless.

Skeps

Skeps are beehives which might be dome-shaped and had been conventional made out of twisted straw.  Their use is discouraged and even unlawful in some areas.  It is because they don’t include detachable frames that makes hive inspections potential. 

Although they will not be sensible in trendy beekeeping they’re the icon illustration of bees and a few folks get pleasure from making small skep replicas.

Small Hive Beetles

Small Hive Beetles are a significant pest of honey bee colonies notably within the hotter areas of the US.  Native to tropical areas of Africa, SHB had been found within the US in 1998.  Southern beekeepers should monitor beetle ranges rigorously of their colonies.

Supering

Supering refers to inserting supers or bee bins on the hive in anticipation of a honey crop. The choice of when so as to add a honey tremendous relies on native components and the situation of the hive.

Wax Moths

An opportunist pest of honey bee colonies wax moths enter the hive to put eggs on the comb.  Grownup moths do no injury within the hive.  Nonetheless, the wax moth larva tunnels by means of comb forsaking webbing and feces.

The wax moth just isn’t risk to a powerful colony.  Nonetheless, a colony weakened by pest or illness will be destroyed by a wax moth infestation.

Employee Bee

A lot of the bees in a colony are feminine employee bees.  They develop from fertilized eggs which might be laid by a mated queen. 

The employee bee does the entire duties that make hive life potential.  Incapable of mating, the employee bee can not lay fertilized eggs however in sure circumstances could lay unfertilized eggs.

Zombie Bees

The time period zombie bees refers to honey bees which might be serving as a bunch to a parasitic fly. The Apocephalos borealis fly, lays eggs contained in the bee physique. Killing the honey bee and inflicting erratic conduct earlier than demise.