The European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Fact Sheet

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1 The European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Fact Sheet If you are interested in beekeeping contact the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association phone: Visit and join our social network website at: We meet the 1 st Friday of the Month at 7 PM at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center 6301 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL Honey Bee Life Cycle and Colony: There are three castes of honey bees: queens, which produce eggs; drones or males, which mate with new queens and have no stinger; and workers, which are all non-reproducing females. The queen lays eggs singly in cells of the comb, a mass of hexagonal wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to hold their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. Larvae hatch from eggs in three to four days. They are then fed by worker bees and develop through several stages in the cells. Cells are capped by worker bees when the larva pupates. Queens and drones are larger than workers and so require larger cells to develop. A colony typically consists of tens of thousands of individual bees. Development from egg to emerging bee varies among queens, workers and drones. Queens emerge from their cells in 16 days, workers in 21 days and drones in 24 days. Typically one queen is present in a hive. New virgin queens develop in enlarged cells through differential feeding of royal jelly by workers. Royal Jelly is a protein-rich secretion from glands on the heads of young workers. If not for being heavily fed royal jelly, the queen larva would have developed into a regular worker bee. The queen is the only bee in a colony which has fully developed ovaries, and she secretes a pheromone which suppresses the normal development of ovaries in all her workers. When the existing queen ages or dies or the colony becomes very large and congested (conditions favorable for swarming) a new queen is raised by the worker bees. The virgin queen takes one or several nuptial flights and once she has mated and is fertile she starts laying eggs in the hive. A fertile queen is able to lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs. Each unfertilized egg contains a unique combination of 50% of the queen's genes and develops into a haploid drone. The fertilized eggs develop into either workers or new virgin queens. Almost all the bees in a hive are female worker bees. At the height of summer when there is a lot of activity in the hive and work goes on non-stop, the life of a worker bee may be as short as 6 weeks. In northern climatic zones during the winter when no brood is being raised and no nectar is being harvested, a worker bee may live for as long as 16 weeks. During its life a worker bee performs different work functions in the hive which are largely dictated by the age of the bee. Period Days 1-3 Day 3-6 Day 6-10 Day 8-16 Day Day 14 onwards Work activity Cleaning cells and incubation Feeding older larvae Feeding younger larvae Receiving honey and pollen from field bees Wax making and cell building Entrance guards; nectar and pollen foraging

2 Beekeepers use the ability of the bees to produce new queens in order to increase their colonies, a procedure called splitting a colony. In order to do this, they remove several brood combs from a healthy hive, taking care that the old queen is left behind. These combs must contain eggs or larvae less than three days old that will be covered by young 'nurse bees' which care for the brood and keep it warm. These brood combs and attendant nurse bees are then placed into a small 'nucleus hive' along with other combs containing honey and pollen. As soon as the nurse bees find themselves in this new hive and realize that they have no queen, they set about constructing emergency queen cells using the eggs or larvae they have in the combs with them. (Brief) History of Beekeeping (apiculture): Hieroglyphics on Egyptian temples and tombs are the first indications of human domestication of bees (before 2422 BC 650 BC). Bees were kept in hollow logs, pottery, and straw baskets (or skeps). Beekeeping equipment (straw and clay hives) have been discovered in Bronze and Iron Age archeological sites. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese have all written about beekeeping. In the 18 th century European naturalists started studying the biology and ecology of bees in an effort to understand and harness their unique nature. In 1851 American Lorenzo Langstroth invented the 10 frame deep hive that has moveable frames. This is the system still in use by beekeepers today and fostered the growth of commercial honey production on a large scale. His essential discovery was that he realized that bees leave open a space of 5/16 and build burr comb in spaces over 3/8 and propolized spaces ¼ or less. His hive box and frame configuration accommodates the bees and allows the beekeeper to manage a hive with the least disruption to the bees. He published his findings in a book in 1853 called The Hive and Honey-bee. In 1857 straight combs were assured when Johannes Mehring, a carpenter from Germany designed wax foundation with octagonal indentations (5 per inch) for use in Langstroth s frames. Basic Beekeeping Equipment: Most beekeepers wear some type protective clothing, usually gloves and a hooded suit or hat and veil. More experienced beekeepers sometimes elect not to use gloves because they inhibit delicate manipulations. The face and neck are the most important areas to protect, so most beekeepers will at least wear a veil. Protective clothing is generally light in color and smooth which is the opposite of the bees natural predators (dark, furry animals). Bee stings send out an alarm pheromone that attracts aggressive action and further stinging. A beekeeper can mask the alarm pheromone and calm bees with the use of a smoker. Smoke initiates a feeding response in the bees in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to forest fire. Another necessary piece of equipment is the hive tool. It functions like a crowbar and scraper and a beekeeper uses this tool to loosen hive bodies and frames and remove excess bur comb and propolis that the bees use to glue and connect things together. Urban apiculture: Urban apiculture has undergone a renaissance lately and urban beekeeping is a growing trend. Some have found that "city bees" are actually healthier than "rural bees" because there are fewer pesticides and greater biodiversity of their foraging flowers.

3 Beehive Components The modern bee hive is like a highly efficient multistoried factory with each story having a specific function. These stories work together to provide a home for bees and a honey factory for the beekeeper. A. Hive Cover - Telescoping cover telescopes over the sides of the top super to protect the hive. Galvanized covering. B. Inner Cover - Creates a dead air space for insulation from heat and cold. C. Shallow Supers - Consist of Super, Frames and Beeswax Foundation for surplus honey storage. Bees store their extra honey in the frames for the beekeeper to remove. 6-5/8' or, 5-11/16'' supers, or even hive bodies may be used. D. Queen Excluder - Keeps the queen bee in the brood chambers as she is too large to pass through the excluder. Prevents her from laying eggs and raising brood in honey supers placed above the excluder. E. Hive Bodies - Consists of Body, Frames and Beeswax Foundation. Brood Chambers are the bees living quarters. Queen lays eggs in these chambers and brood is raised. Honey is also stored for the bees food. F. Bottom Board - Forms the floor of the hive. Shown with wooden entrance reducer in place to keep mice and some cold out during winter. G. Hive Stand - Supports the hive off the ground to keep hive bottom dry and insulate hive To contact us: Phone , Fax , Dadant@dadant.com

4 Products of the Hive: Honey o Nectar is the chief material and its type determines the flavor, color and aroma. o Honey bees transform the nectar into honey by adding enzymes and evaporating excess moisture. Beeswax o Manufactured by honey bees from the sugars found in collected nectar. o The single largest consumer of beeswax in the United States is the cosmetics industry. Pollen o The male reproductive cells produced by the anthers of flowering plants. o Pollen has a high content of trace minerals and vitamins and supplies a complete diet of nutrients to honey bees. Royal Jelly o A complete food produced by honey bees that contains proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats. o It is the first food of a queen honey bee. Propolis o A sticky resinous material collected by honey bees from a variety of plants and trees. o The potent antimicrobial activity of Propolis exhibits a variety of biological and pharmacological properties. Value of Honey Bees: Many important U.S. crops rely on pollination services provided by commercial beekeepers including: oranges, apples, almonds, peaches, soybeans, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Nationwide, honey bee pollination is worth about $15 billion to the food supply and is credited with helping to produce 1 / 3 of the nation s diet (2009 data from Penn State). There are an estimated 115,000 to 125,000 beekeepers in the United States. The vast majority are hobbyists with less than 25 hives. (2011 Industry Survey, Bee Culture Magazine) Commercial beekeepers are those with 300 or more hives. The number of U.S. honey bee colonies producing honey in 2010 was 2.68 million (based on beekeepers who manage five or more colonies). Many commercial beekeepers move their colonies around during the year to provide pollination services to farmers and to reach the most abundant sources of nectar. Commercial beekeeping operations are frequently family businesses that are handed down from generation to generation. (National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Feb. 25, 2011)

5 What is Colony Collapse Disorder? Higher-than-usual colony losses (since the fall of 2006) The average number of colony losses has been approximately 30% The majority of adult bees "disappear" leaving behind a box full of honey, pollen, capped brood, a queen, and maybe a few worker bees. Colonies with CCD do not contain any dead bees The leading candidates for Colony Collapse Disorder are: Traditional bee pests and diseases (including American foulbrood, European foulbrood, chalkbrood, nosema, small hive beetles, and tracheal mites) may exacerbate the problem. Varroa mites and associated (viral) pathogens Honey bee management practices that stress the hive (splitting hives, swarm control, chemical use, etc.) Poor management can also make any colony malady worse. Queen source - (the lack of genetic diversity / a genetic bottle neck) the lack of genetic biodiversity can make bees increasingly susceptible to any pest / disease that invades the system. Chemical use in bee colonies - the sub-lethal effects of chemicals used on honey bees in an effort to keep them healthy and productive. Chemical toxins in the environment - pesticides used in agriculture and urban areas (e.g.: systemic insecticides for white flies or mosquito control). Genetically modified crops - Many seeds from which genetically modified crops are grown are dipped first in systemic insecticides that later may appear in the plants' nectar and pollen. Nutritional fitness / Malnutrition stress Undiscovered new pests and diseases - (e.g.: a new nosema species, Nosema ceranae and Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus) Synergisms between the stressors identified above. What can a beekeeper do to avoid CCD? Don t combine collapsing colonies with healthy ones and don t use contaminated equipment (hive boxes, frames, tools etc). Use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach for Varroa control that minimizes the need for chemicals. Use (published) best management practices. Bee Pests: The Varroa Mite (Varroa destructor): is a mite native of Asia and was first detected in Florida in the 1980's. This parasite is passed by contact from colony to colony and affects both adults and young. It is the parasite with the most pronounced economic impact on the beekeeping industry. It attaches at the body of the bee and weakens the bee by sucking hemolymph. In this process viruses spreads to bees.

6 The Small Hive Beetles (Aethina tumida): Adults and larvae inhabit beehives, where they feed on stored pollen and honey. Combs are damaged and brood killed by the burrowing of the beetle larvae. Endemic to sub-saharan Africa Discovered in the US in 1996 and in St. Lucie County in 1998 Most often found in weak or failing hives Other pests include: frogs and toads, ants, wasps, wax moths, spiders, bears, small mammals, tracheal mites (Acarapis woodi), etc. Bee diseases: European and American Foulbrood (bacterium), Chalkbrood (fungus), Nosema (protozoa), and Sacbrood (a virus). The Africanized honey bee: The Africanized honey bees in the western hemisphere are a hybrid originating from 26 Tanzanian queen bees accidentally released by a beekeeper in 1957 in southeastern Brazil. The hives were operated by biologist Warwick Kerr, who had interbred honey bees from Europe and southern Africa. Hives containing these particular queens were noted to be especially defensive. Kerr was attempting to breed a strain of bees that would produce more honey and be better adapted to the warm, humid conditions of Central and tropical areas of South America than the European honey bee. The hives the bees were accidentally released from had special excluder grates to prevent the larger queen bees and drones from getting out and mating with local queens and drones from European descent. However, following the accidental release, the African queens and drones mated with domesticated local non-african queens and drones, and their descendants have since spread throughout the Americas. It should be noted that the African hybrid bees have become the preferred types of bee for beekeeping in Central America and in tropical areas of South America because of their improved productivity. The behavior not the appearance of the African Honey Bee is different from the European Honey Bee in several major ways: The African Honey Bee swarms much more frequently and goes farther than the European Honey Bee. Africanized Honey Bees do not fly out in angry swarms to randomly attack unlucky victims but they are extremely protective of their hive and brood. Their "home turf" is much larger than the European honey bee. The African Honey Bee is far less selective about what it calls home. They will occupy a much smaller space than the European Honey Bee. The chief difference between the European races or subspecies of bees kept by beekeepers and the African stock is attributable to selective breeding. The Africanized honey bee varieties produced a reversion of behavior similar to non-domesticated species. (They are less domesticated.) Useful Links:

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