New York City

Guide for Bee-ginner Beekeepers

  By Donald Loggins

I. INTRODUCTION  

A little creature called apis melifera has provoked an interest unequaled by any other insect. The honeybee, as she is more commonly known, has a heritage that may go back twenty million years fulfilling a major role in the pollination of plants. The transfer of pollen   from the anther (or male part) to the stigma (the female part) is essential to the formation of the plant's seeds and the propagation of the species. The plant, to entice the honeybee, secretes nectar.

Enzymes in the honeybee's honey stomach start the conversion from nectar to honey. Subsequent enzyme action and evaporation of water converts ten pounds of nectar into one pound of honey. Honey   is the food of bees but it is also an attraction to other animals: among them man.

Man's attraction to sweetness led him to forego the pain of bee stings   so that he might have honey. Records of man's encounter with bees exist from as much as 20,000 years ago. Early cave drawings show a man taking honey from a hive while angry bees fly around him.

Folk lore and honey found in ancient Italian and Egyptian tombs, attest to the role that honey has played in mankind's history. Mead, an alcoholic brew, was made from honey that was mixed with water and allowed to ferment. Honey   was used for medicinal purposes and as a major sweetener. Beeswax   made fine candles.

What once had been wild bee hives that existed in hollow trees and rocks, now became somewhat domesticated beehives in hollow logs, jars, or boxes that were attended by beekeepers. They were moveable in many instances, such as the hives on Egyptian rafts, to follow the flowers as the seasons changed. One problem shared by almost all the early hives was that they were difficult, if possible, to inspect and remove honey from without greatly destroying bees and hive. Gathering honey usually meant killing off some of the hives, mashing the comb once it was removed, and draining off the honey. Later hive designs utilized strips of wood across the top allowing the bees to build free form combs down from them which resulted in hives that were easier to work with but it was not until Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth invented the moveable frame hive that a good design for inspecting bees became available.

With the Langstroth hive, not only could the brood chamber be inspected for disease, but supers   could be stacked upward and, since the queen   stayed in the lower part of the hive, surplus honey was stored above in frames free from any brood. Though not the first hive to allow expansion, and thus allow for a storage of honey and less crowding of the bees that would force swarming , it was the first design to have comb that was enclosed on four sides by a wooden frame that allowed for easy removal and reuse of the comb. Since four to twelve pounds of honey, and the time, are consumed by bees in the production of one pound of beeswax, honey production could be increased from that alone. Being able to remove surplus honey without having to kill off the bees meant that many more bees were available come spring to gather honey.

Swarming   had been the means by which the beekeeper resupplied the hives that had been killed off in the old days. With a hive with removable frames and expandable size, swarming   was discouraged. Since swarming greatly reduces the number of bees available to collect nectar and make honey, minimizing swarms maximizes honey production. In suburban areas minimizing swarms can also minimize problems resulting from terrified neighbors as well as controlling hive population and the resulting needs of more time and money to manage them.

The advent of refined white sugar caused honey to be relied upon less than it had been but the recent upsurge in the return to natural foods, for flavor and nutrition, has greatly increased the demand for honey. Food research has also shown additional benefits of honey such as extended freshness of baked goods made with honey.

Even without considering honey production, bees still remain an essential part of nature's scheme. Population growth and agricultural practices have greatly reduced the number of wild bees (there are 20,000 species of bees in the world) and as a result pollination has fallen off drastically in some areas to the point that the crops would be unprofitable unless bees were brought in to pollinate them. Since only the honeybee and a few other species lend themselves to easily being hived and moved, farmers must now pay from thirty to eighty dollars per hive to insure proper pollination to get a bountiful harvest of fruit or seed. While it is true that the honey bee is not native to the Americans, neither is the apple, peach, cherry and many other plants that depend upon bees for pollination. As well as all the other pleasures that the honeybee has to offer, she is serving the nation through pollination.

II. GETTING STARTED WITH BEES

Buying bees is as important a task as buying a good animal such as a dog or horse: a reliable breeder is one's best bet. Advice from an experienced beekeeper in selecting a hive of bees will aid the new beekeeper in avoiding getting poor bees and/or equipment. A bargain isn't a bargain if the bees are sickly or neglected and require that a lot of time and money be spent to get them into proper condition.

One of the easiest ways to get started is to buy bees from a reliable beekeeper in one's area. An equally good way is to order bees and hive components from suppliers through the mail. When ordering through the mail it must be remembered that sufficient time must be allowed for the hive to arrive, be assembled, and painted before the bees arrive. Supplies for handling the bees, as well as extra supers , must be ordered early enough so that the bees can be inspected and swarming   minimized.

Getting started with too little money can lead to the lack of extra supers   that need to be added in the late spring or early summer when the honey flow is at its peak and available space is used up. It is most disappointing to discover that a hard working hive has stopped much of its activity to create a new queen   and that the old queen and half the hive are sitting as a swarm in a tree or bush. Trying to set up a new hive when not enough equipment was available to handle the original hive is quite a dilemma. The minimum supply to feel fairly safe is the full depth brood chamber and three half depth supers. A basis of two full depth brood chambers and three half depth supers is far more desirable since the two full depth supers can serve as the brood chambers and two half depth supers can be used for surplus honey with the remaining half depth super being used to replace a full super that is removed.

Not over reacting to the first few bee stings   is an important part of bee keeping. If one is found to be sensitive to stings, then more caution must be given to proper dress but one must not allow bee stings to cause him to shy away from proper care of the bees. A new hive should not be disturbed too much for the first two weeks, until they feel at home in the hive, but after that, bees can no more be left unattended than if one had bought a dog or a cat and then decided not to feed it. The bees should be inspected every two weeks to a month so that the new beekeeper becomes fully familiar with the bees, their condition, and behavior. Sometimes a mental block develops in regard to being involved with his bees and as a result, the beekeeper loses interest. Bee keeping is not for everyone. While no one enjoys being stung, it can't be a fear of such a magnitude as to cause the bees to be neglected.

Early Spring   is the best time to get started in beekeeping because, as the year progresses, the flowers will come into bloom and the bees will have a chance to collect nectar. However, it can also be a bad time if it is a cold, wet spring with few flowers. To insure the survival of a new hive during the first month, when so much of the hive's energy and consequently food supply is used in drawing out new comb and raising brood, a solution of sugar water must be feed to the new hive to supplement their needs. The sooner the weather becomes consistently nice the sooner the feeding can be eliminated. There are several ways that sugar water can be fed. The use of an entrance feeder is simplest but it is argued that in cold weather the bees may have difficulty using it. Placing a can or jar of sugar water over the opening in the inner cover, with an empty hive box around it to keep the heat from the hive in, and then placing the outer cover on top is a favored way of many beekeepers. A third method is to remove a frame and replace it with a special trough that can be filled with sugar water and has a board floating on it so the bees won't drown when they land to drink the sugar water. Pouring granulated sugar in the space between the inner and outer cover can be used in emergencies but is not one of the more desired methods for extended feeding as the bees need water to dissolve the sugar to use it.

Choosing the proper place in the community garden to set up a beehive is a factor that should be considered well in advance to the arrival of the bees. Once the bees "mark the spot" they will not tolerate having the hive moved after they are established in it. Bees do not remember the hive but rather the spot where the hive is relative to fixed landmarks. The standing rule is to move the hive more than two miles or less than six feet at any single move. If more than two miles they will reorient themselves because of unfamiliar surrounding. Less than six feet will appear to be within their navigation accuracy.

A place most desirable for the bees should offer light shade of deciduous trees to help keep the hive cool in the summer time and still allow the sun to warm it in the winter, early spring and late fall. Since the hive location will probably be chosen in the winter or early spring, when no leaves are on the trees and the path of the sun is more southward in the sky, allowance must be made for the effects of having leaves on the trees and a more northern path of the sun. Heavy shade interferes with navigation from the sun and doesn't allow the sun to warm the hive as early in the morning or as late in the evening. If in direct sunlight, the bees will spend too much time and energy trying to keep the hive cool on hot summer days. It should be noted that some experts feel that keeping bees in direct sunlight tends to make the bees work harder. The actual daytime temperature in the summer plays a major role in that choice. In this area, whenever possible, the entrance of the hive should face south to help in their orientation of the sun, to warm the entrance, and to minimize the effects of having wind, rain and snow blowing in the entrance.

Picking a location with a minimum of traffic in front of the hive is very important. Bees can be rather intolerant to people, cars or animals passing back and forth in front of their entrance. It is especially annoying for a tired bee, returning from the field, to have to try to maneuver around moving objects. Also, on take off they need room to gain altitude without having to avoid moving objects. A fence or hedge five to ten feet in front of the hives will encourage a more rapid ascent and make areas in front of the hedge or fence more freely usable.

III. CONSIDERATION FOR THE BEES

Every so often in talking to people it is possible to meet someone who had bees but had to give them up because they didn't have the time to properly care for them. Bee keeping is much more involved than getting bees and then letting them care for themselves. It is not fair to the bees, or the surrounding neighbors, to merely leave them on their own. It can't be assumed that since they were wild it follows that they can care for themselves. The effects of man on the landscape greatly affect the habitat of the bees. Man has upset nature's balance and the bee is affected by the changes.

Time must be spent to assure that the needs of the bee are met since the beekeeper and not the bees chose the spot where the hive is located. To survive and be productive the bees must have the materials to make the honey as close as possible. Flowers are the major concern since bees can produce honey only from the nectar of flowers. The more vegetation the better the chance of flowers. Maple and basswood produce flowers in the spring but they can also shade out other plants than might supply flowers at other times of the year. A good variety of plants will do a lot to assure some blooms at most times throughout the honey seasons. Fields supply an opportunity for small flowering plants to grow many of which bloom quite profusely. Frequent checking of the hive's activity related to the number of bees flying in and out of the entrance, can tell a lot about the condition of the hive but the surest check is to actually open the hive and check the amount of nectar being processed, honey being made, and the size of the brood chamber.

Water   is an essential item for bees since they use it to dilute the honey to feed to the brood and in the hot weather they bring the water back to the hive and evaporate it to cool the hive. Good clean water, free of chemicals, bacteria or parasites that may harm the bees, is essential to maintaining a healthy, productive hive. Stagnant, dirty water is an easy way to introduce disease into a hive and, if more than one hive uses the same water, disease can be spread quite rapidly. Running water such as obtained from a slightly open faucet or garden hose will work well. Letting a hose run slowly into a pan filled with rocks or floating wood is ideal. It must be remembered that the bees will drown if they land in the water. The rocks or wood provide landing surfaces. Frequent checks must still be made to be sure that the water stays free from contamination. Having the water as close to the hives as possible is important since they waste less time and energy in getting the water, and are more likely to use it than another source, such as the neighbor's yards, especially their pools, in search of water. People stepping on bees around their pools can be a major source of trouble.

IV. MAJOR CONCERNS IN THE ACTUAL HANDLING OF BEES

1 . Smoothness of Handling

Opening the bee hive as smoothly as possible can be a major consideration in controlling the temperament of the bees and rendering them as gentle as possible. Though there is some question among the experts as to whether or not bees can hear, there is no question regarding their ability to sense vibrations and respond to them as a possible threat. Any jarring of the hive, any abrupt movement, can be interpreted as an attack against their home: their sole means of surviving. Prying supers   apart as carefully as possible and removing frames gently allows the bees to be surprisingly indifferent to the beekeeper's activities.

2 . Proper use of the Smoker  

Moderation is the keyword in the use of the smoker. Smoke should be used to drive back the guards but not to overwhelm the hive. Too little smoke won't suppress the guards enough but too much smoke will aggravate the hive. Just because a few bees are flying around is not grounds to apply more and more smoke. As with most phases of bee keeping, experience will show how much smoke is needed and it will be noted that it varies from hive to hive. Keeping the smoker going can be a unique problem in working with bees. Unless the bellows is squeezed every so often it will go out. If the bellows are squeezed too often or too hard the flame will get too hot and emit a flame rather than smoke.

Materials that supply fairly good smoke include dried grass, leaves, pine cones, and ceiling tiles. Peat moss works quite well, is readily available and not expensive. Usually paper is used to get the fire started.

3. Introduction of a Queen  

A hive of bees has its own unique scent and intruders are detected as not having the same scent and are either removed or killed. Introducing a queen   from another hive can result in her being killed, since she has an odor different from the rest of the bees. Precautions should be taken to protect her from the rest of the bees until she acquires the scent of the hive. There are several ways that can be done.

If the new queen   is kept in a separate cage, within the hive, she will acquire the scent of the hive and be more willingly accepted. The normally used queen cage is a block of wood about ¾ inch by 1 ½ inches by 2 ½ inches that has been partially drilled out and then has had window screening tacked over the opening to contain the queen in an opening about 1 inch in diameter and a half an inch deep. Entering along the axis of long dimension, from both ends is a 3/8 inch hole that has been filled with candied sugar at one end and corked at the other end.

Placing the cage on top of the frames with the screen side down and straddling two frames allows the bees to become familiar with the queen   without harming her. Removing the cork from the 3/8 inch hole that is blocked with candied sugar allows the bees to eat through the sugar in a couple of days and free the queen.

For introducing a queen   with a large number of bees, such as combining a swarm with an existing hive, the outer and inner covers of the hive can be removed and a sheet or two of newspaper can be used to cover the whole top of the hive. A super, with frames, can then be placed on top of the newspaper and the queen and bees poured into the super and the inner and outer covers replaced. Use an inner cover with openings so they will have ventilation and they will be able to leave and enter through the top of the hive. Within a day or two the bees will have chewed through the paper and the two groups combined. Their odors will have mixed and they won't attack each other. The two queens, however, will seek each other out and fight. Usually the younger, stronger queen will survive.

More than twenty different variations of queen   introductions exist. Prime concern in most cases is allowing time for the odor of the new queen and attendants to mix with the hive to which the introduction is made. It must also be remembered that a hive without a queen is far more willing to accept a new queen than a hive that has a good producing queen.

4. Package Bees

A package of bees is a box about 10 by 14 by 5 inches, with window screening on the 10 by 14 inch sides, containing anywhere from two to five pounds of bees with or without a queen . The most usual order is a 3-pound package (about 11-12,000 bees) with a queen. Whether or not a queen is included, depends upon whether the package is to be used to add to a weak hive that has a queen or whether a new hive is to be started. For this climate it would be best to have the bees arrive between April 15 and May 15.

It is most important in ordering package bees to have a bee hive fully assembled and painted before the package arrives since the queens should only be kept in the package a few days at the most. It is important that the bees start building combs and the queen   laying eggs as soon as possible since it will be three weeks before the new bees start hatching out. To insure the survival of the hive they should be fed sugar water since not enough nectar may be available in the early spring.

If at all possible the hive should have some drawn foundation so that the bees will have to expend less energy in getting started. Four to twelve pounds of honey must be consumed to produce one pound of wax. The less energy the bees must use at such a critical time, the better their chance of survival.

The bees should be installed in the hive late in the evening, if possible, to prevent drifting. Usually only half the frames are placed in the hive so that the bees may be dumped in the opening left and then the frames are replaced.

FACTS ABOUT HONEYBEES

Pollination

Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables.

Pollen

Bees collect 66 lbs of pollen   per year, per hive. Pollen   is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. The Honeybee uses pollen as a food. Pollen is one of the richest and purest natural foods, consisting of up to 35% protein, 10% sugars, carbohydrates, enzymes, minerals, and vitamins A (carotenes), B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinic acid), B5 (panothenic acid), C (ascorbic acid), H (biotin), and R (rutine).

Honey   is used by the bees for food all year round. There are many types, colors and flavors of honey, depending upon its nectar source. The bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowering trees and plants. Honey is an easily digestible, pure food. Honey is hydroscopic and has antibacterial qualities. Eating local honey can fend off allergies.

Beeswax

Secreted from glands, beeswax is used by the honeybee to build honey comb. It is used by humans in drugs, cosmetics, artists' materials, furniture polish and candles.

Propolis

Collected by honeybees from trees, the sticky resin is mixed with wax to make a sticky glue. The bees use this to seal cracks and repair their hive. It is used by humans as a health aid, and as the basis for fine wood varnishes.

Royal Jelly

The powerful, milky substance that turns an ordinary bee into a Queen   Bee. It is made of digested pollen   and honey or nectar mixed with a chemical secreted from a gland in a nursing bee's head. It commands premium prices rivaling imported caviar, and is used by some as a dietary supplement and fertility stimulant. It is loaded with all of the B vitamins.

Bee Venom

The "ouch" part of the honeybee. Although sharp pain and some swelling and itching are natural reactions to a honeybee sting, a small percentage of individuals are highly allergic to bee venom. "Bee venom therapy" is widely practiced overseas and by some in the USA to address health problems such as arthritis, neuralgia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even MS.

OTHER BITS OF INFORMATION

Honeybees are not native to the USA. They are European in origin, and were brought to North America by the early settlers.

Honeybees are not aggressive by nature, and will not sting unless protecting their hive from an intruder or are unduly provoked.

Honeybees represent a highly organized society, with various bees having very specific roles during their lifetime: e.g., nurses, guards, grocers, housekeepers, construction workers, royal attendants, undertakers, foragers, etc.

The queen   bee can live for several years. Worker   bees live for 6 weeks during the busy summer, and for 4-9 months during the winter months.

The practice of honey collection and beekeeping dates back to the stone-age, as evidenced by cave paintings.

The honeybee hive is perennial. Although quite inactive during the winter, the honeybee survives the winter months by clustering for warmth. By self-regulating the internal temperature of the cluster, the bees maintain 93 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of the winter cluster (regardless of the outside temperature).

THREE CASTES OF HONEYBEE

Queen   Bee

There is only one queen   per hive. The queen is the only bee with fully developed ovaries. A queen bee can live for 3-5 years. The queen mates only once with several male (drone) bees, and will remain fertile for life. She lays up to 2000 eggs per day. Fertilized eggs become female (worker bees) and unfertilized eggs become male (drone bees). When she dies or becomes unproductive, the other bees will "make" a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it a diet of "royal jelly ". For queen bees, it takes 16 days from egg to emergence.

Worker   Bee

All worker bees are female, but they are not able to reproduce. Worker   bees live for 4-9 months during the winter season, but only 6 weeks during the busy summer months (they literally work themselves to death). Nearly all of the bees in a hive are worker bees. A hive consists of 20,000 - 30,000 bees in the winter, and over 60,000 - 80,000 bees in the summer. The worker bees sequentially take on a series of specific chores during their lifetime: housekeeper; nursemaid; construction worker; grocer; undertaker; guard; and finally, after 21 days they become a forager collecting pollen   and nectar. For worker bees, it takes 21 days from egg to emergence. The worker bee has a barbed stinger that results in her death following stinging, therefore, she can only sting once.

Drone   Bee

These male bees are kept on standby during the summer for mating with a virgin queen . Because the drone has a barbed sex organ, mating is followed by death of the drone. There are only 300-3000 drones in a hive. The drone does not have a stinger. Because they are of no use in the winter, drones are expelled from the hive in the autumn.

THREATS TO BEEKEEPING

Mites  

The greatest threat to beekeeping are two varieties of mites (Varroa and Tracheal). And although these mites can be kept under control by a persistent beekeeper, the negative effects on the honeybee population has been devastating. The Back Yard Beekeepers Association surveyed its membership and learned that over 40% of the membership's hives died in 1996. These mites are greatly reducing the overall honeybee population in the USA. The mites are of no concern to humans, except for the effect they can have on honey production.

Disease  

Beekeepers are on the watch for various diseases unique to honeybees, and harmless to humans. "Foul Brood" and "Nosema" are two such diseases. These problems can easily be addressed by good management and proper medication.

Urbanization  

With more and more urban development and the growth of cities, there is less and less foraging available to bees. However, areas like community gardens and urban parks contain a rich assortment of nectar and pollen   for honeybees.

Africanized   Bees

The arrival of so-called "killer bees" in a few southern states has received sensationalized treatment in the media. In some areas of the country, this negative publicity has stimulated local restrictions and ordinances on the hobbyist beekeeper. There are no "killer bees" in NYC.

ROYAL JELLY   FACT SHEET

Royal Jelly   is the substance that turns an ordinary bee into the Queen   Bee. It is made of pollen   which is chewed up and mixed with a chemical secreted from a gland in the nursing bee's heads. This "milk" or "pollen mush" is fed to all the larvae for the first two days of their lives.

The larvae chosen to become a queen   continue to eat only royal jelly . The queen grows one and a half times larger than the ordinary bee, and is capable of laying up to two thousand eggs a day. The Queen   Bee lives forty times longer than the bees on a regular diet. There is no difference between a queen bee and a worker bee in the larval stage. The only factor that is different between them is that a developing queen bee continues to eat only royal jelly.

Scientists decided to try feeding the queen   bee's diet to other animals with surprising results. The life spa of pigs and roosters showed as much as a thirty- percent increases. Fruit flies fed royal jelly   increased in size and in rate of production. Chickens given royal jelly laid twice as many eggs, and older chickens began to lay again.

In France, there have been reports of women fed royal jelly   during menopause, showing complete remission of their symptoms. Some were even able to become mothers again. France also claimed that their studies showed royal jelly to have rejuvenating and sexually stimulating effects on both men and women. Canada has approved royal jelly as a natural dietary supplement for its athletes. Royal jelly   is not a drug, but a nutritious, quickly assimilated food.

In Germany, Drs. Chochi, Prosperi, Quadri and Malossi (in separate studies) used royal jelly   as an aid to badly undernourished and premature babies. The infants fed royal jelly increased in weight and health. Another doctor, Telatui, reported that neuro-psychic patients given royal jelly regained normal weight, a more stable nervous system, and a greater degree of stamina for physical and mental work.

Chemical analysis of royal jelly   found it rich in protein and the B vitamins (especially panothenic acid). However, analysis of royal jelly fails to break it down into all its different components. It cannot be synthesized.

Royal jelly   has proven to be a potent bactericide. It also acts as a catalyst, stimulating intercellular metabolic activities without significantly modifying normal physiological activity. Thus, it hastens cell recovery with no side effects. Royal jelly has been known to speed up healing of wounds and to reduce the amount of scarring.

The beneficial effects of royal jelly   seem not to depend entirely upon its vitamin content, but upon some type of enzymatic or catalytic action of an as yet unknown factor; or perhaps, the known factors working in combination with a co-enzyme through a process that has not yet been defined.

Since the action of royal jelly   seems to be systemic rather that one which affects a specific biological function, it has been recommended for a great variety of purposes: to retard the aging process, for menopause, correction of under-nutrition, for arthritis, vascular diseases, peptic ulcers, liver ailments, nervous instability, skin problems, improvement of sexual functions, general health and well being.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Beeswax : waxy material produced by worker bees and used to build combs.

Drones : Male bees, whose main function in the colony is to fertilize the queen . Drones make up a very small percentage of the total colony. In the Autumn drones are expelled from the hive by the female worker bees.

Foundation : Thin sheets of beeswax imprinted with a pattern of honey comb. The beekeeper installs these sheets into wooden frames as "starters" for the bees in making uniform combs.

Frames : The removable wooden structures which are placed in the hive. The bees build their comb within these frames. The removable quality allows the beekeeper to easily inspect the colony.

Hive Bodies : The first one or two wooden boxes of the colony. The hive bodies contain the brood nest of the colony.

Larva : The grub-like, immature form of the bee, after it has developed from the egg and before it has gone into the pupa stage.

Nectar : Sweet fluid produced by flowers is 60% water and 40% solids. This is collected by the bees and converted into honey at 17 -18% moisture content.

Pollen : Very small dust-like grain produced by flowers. These are the male germ cells of the plant.

Propolis : Sticky, brownish gum gathered by bees from trees and buds and used to seal cracks and drafts in the hive. Also called "bee-glue".

Pupa : The immature form of the bee (following the larval stage) while changing into the adult form.

Queen : A completely developed female bee (with functioning ovaries) who lays eggs and serves as the central focus of the colony. There is only one queen   in a colony of bees. A queen's productive life span is 2-3 years.

Royal Jelly : The milky white secretion of young nurse bees. It is used to feed the queen   throughout her life, and is given to worker and drone larvae only during their early larval lives.

Super : The supplementary wooden boxes places on top of the hive body the expand the size of the colony, and to provide for storage of surplus honey.

Supercedure: When a colony with an old or failing queen   rears a daughter to replace her.

Workers : Completely developed female bees that do have developed ovaries and do not normally lay eggs. They gather pollen   and nectar and convert the nectar to honey. A worker's life expectancy is only several weeks during the active summer months. However, they can live for many months during the relatively inactive winter.

BeeHive

ID Chart

INDEX

A

Africanized ........................................... 13

B

Bee Venom ........................................... 10

Beeswax ...................................... 2, 10, 15

D

Disease ................................................ 13

Drone .................................................... 12

Drones ................................................... 15

F

Foundation ............................................ 15

Frames .................................................. 15

H

Hive Bodies ........................................... 15

Honey ................................................ 2, 10

I

INTRODUCTION ..................................... 1

L

Larva ..................................................... 15

M

Mites ..................................................... 13

N

Nectar .................................................... 16

P

pollen ............................. 1, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16

Pollination .............................................. 9

Propolis ........................................... 10, 16

Pupa ..................................................... 16

Q

queen . 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

R

Royal Jelly ................... 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

S

Smoker .................................................... 7

Spring ..................................................... 4

stings ................................................... 2, 4

Super .................................................... 16

supers .............................................. 2, 4, 7

swarming .......................................... 2, 3, 4

U

Urbanization ......................................... 13

W

Water ...................................................... 6

Worker ............................................. 11, 12

Workers ................................................. 16