Apiculture husbandry

What are the two types of honey bee

• European honey bee

• Bumble bee

Why do people keep bees

• Hobby

• Profit

• Pollination

• Sustainability

How do bees make profit

• Honey

• Wax

• Propolis

• Royal jelly

• Pollen

• Mead

Who is in the colony

• One queen

• Thousands of female workers

• Hundreds of male drones

How do bees change the temperature of their hive

• Reduce by water evaporation

• Increase by huddling and shivering

WHat are some challanges

• Changing agriculture

• Extraction methods

• Migration

• Climate change

• Production

• Transfer of knowledge

What are the different types of hives

• Primitive hives

• Free form honeycomb

• Modern hives

• Modern national hive

What is the purpose of a queen excluder

Prevents the queen from getting into the honey supers to lay eggs so honey can be collected without destroying the hive

What is the life cycle of a bee

1. Starts as an egg born by the queen at the bottom of one of the wells

2. Develops into larva, pupa and adult

3. 21 day cycle for workers and drones

4. 16 day cycle for queens

What does the queen do

• Mates with drones at specific site away from hive by storing sperm

• Can lay up to 2000 eggs a day

• Secretes hormones

• Can sting multiple times

How long do queens live

5 years but are usually replaced after 1-2

What is the purpose of drones

• Mate with the queen in the sky

• Die after mating with others cast out in winter

What is the purpose of workers

• Sterile

• Nurse and feed the young and the queen

• Clean and tidy the hive

• Collect and use propolis to seal have

• Collect water, nectar and pollen

• Make wax and honey

• Guard the hive entrance

How long do workers live

6 weeks in summer or 6 months over winter

What is nectar

Carbohydrate sugar solution used for energy store over the winter

What is pollen

Protein to feed brood

What are ways of obtaining bees

• A nucleus

• In a bait bee hive

• In a tree

What triggers swarming

• Dilution of queen pheromones

• Overcrowding

• Enough bees and stored food to set up another colony

What should happen in an inspection

• Weekly in summer months

• Look for eggs

• Confirm presence of queen

• Remove unwanted bee cells

• Manipulate the hive

• Look for disease

What are the methods of honey harvesting

• Manual

• Cut comb

• Mashing

• Centrifuge

What does The Bee Disease and Pest Control Order 2006 state

An owner who knows or suspect that any bees are infected with a notifiable disease or a notifiable pest is present they must immediately notify the secretary of state

What are the notifiable diseases

• European foulbrood

• American foulbrood

• Tropilaelap mite infestation

• Small hive beetle infestation

What are some problems for bees

• Nosema - fungal infection

• Colony collapse disorder

• Hive robbers

• Green woodpeckers

• Starvation

• Wasps

• Crop spraying