Post on 18-Jun-2020
DBKA -Tiverton Branch
Beekeeping for Beginners
Session Four –The Colony
Tutor - Derek Evans
THIS SESSION: We will look at
1. Who makes up ‘The Colony’?
2. What are the Individual Life Cycles of The
Colony?
3. What are the jobs of the bees?
1. Who makes up ‘The Colony’?
2. How many?
1. Who makes up the colony?
How many in The Colony?
Summer Winter
▪ Queen – 1 1
▪ Worker – 60,000 10,000
▪ Drone – 200-2,000 0
Summer – June/July
▪ 5,000 – 7,000 eggs
▪ 7,000 – 11,000 larvae being fed
▪ 16,000 – 24,000 larvae pupating into adults in sealed
cells
Number of bees in The Colony
Nectar flow
May to July
Nectar v Honey
Raw Material for the bees
Nectar consists of around 60%-80% water with a little
sugar, organic acids, and a handful of amino acids that add
flavours and aroma attractants for the pollinators.
Finished product from the bees
Honey is nectar that has been enzymatically treated by bees
(to convert and rearrange some of the sugars) and then
dehydrated to around 18% - 20% water, producing a
concentrated sugar solution which can be stored for long
periods
Head of a bee
1. Eyes
▪ 3 Ocelli eyes
react to light & movement
▪ 2 Compound eyes
Queen 3,000 – 4,000 facets
Worker 4,000 – 6,900 facets
Drone 7,000 – 8,600 facets
2. Antenna - taste,touch,smell
3. Mandible - jaws
4. Proboscis - tongue
1. Hypopharyngeal gland – initially to produce royal jelly
2. Wax gland
3. Sting gland
4. Hypopharyngeal gland – evolves further to produce enzymes to process
nectar into honey
5. Nasanov gland – attraction scent during swarming
RECAP 1. Head 2. Thorax 3. Abdomen
Queen
▪ Queen hatches from a fertilised egg
▪ On her mating flight she mates with up to
20 Drones (Drones then die)
▪ Her temperament affects the whole
colony
▪ Pheromone(or queen substance) informs
colony all is well
▪ 30 minutes for a colony to realise that she
is missing
▪ She lays up to 2,000 eggs a day in summer,
nearly zero in winter
▪ Queen attendants(workers) – feed, encourage
her to lay, grooming, remove her excrement
▪ Can only sting another queen
▪ She can live 2 to 5 years
Drone - (male)
▪ Drone hatches from an unfertilised egg
▪ Sole job is to mate with a virgin Queen
▪ Drone Congregation Area
▪ Drones do not have a sting
▪ Fed by worker bees
▪ Not loyal to one colony
▪ In early Autumn, all the Drones are
evicted and die!
Worker – (all female)
▪ Worker hatches from a fertilised egg
▪ 6 weeks in the summer
▪ 6 months in winter
▪ Sting - defence mechanism to protect the
colony
▪ Work until they die – more to follow after
the coffee break!
2. Individual Life Cycles Developmental stages
Comparison of the Individual Cycles
Egg stage 3 3 3
Larva stage 5 6 7
Pupa stage 8 12 14
Emerge as adult 16 days 21 days 24 days
Lifespan as adult 2 to 5 yrs 6 wks (summer) 3 months
6 mths (winter)
Eggs hatch after first 3 days (1 - 3) into larvae
Second 3 days (4 -6) all larvae fed royal jelly
After day 6 worker (7 – 9) and drone (7 – 10) fed brood
food – higher % of hypopharyngeal secretion
Queen (6 – 8)
larvae fed royal jelly for a further 2 days
What is Royal Jelly and Brood Food?
Royal Jelly:
▪ Secreted from the hypopharyngeal gland of the
worker
▪ Mixture of pollen(protein), nectar (24% carb), enzymes,
amino acids
Brood Food/Bee Bread:
▪ Gathered & stored in cells
▪ Mixture of pollen(protein), nectar (12% carb), yeasts
Larvae in Royal Jelly
Brood Food/Bee Bread
Stages 1 and 2 - Eggs & Larvae
Stages 1, 2 & 3
Egg Larvae Pupae
Brood Frame
NB
Brood area
Stores of honey
Pollen
Brood Frame with Queen Cells
NB
Queen Cup
Queen Cells
Brood
Queen emerging from the Queen cell
Worker cells - Drone cells - Honey
Worker bees Hatching
Pub quiz - answers
1. Bees usually fly at
2. Top speed is
3. They rarely fly
4. It takes the life of
5. Life of a Worker
about 12 mph
nearly 22 mph
more than 3 miles
from the hive
12 bees to make a
teaspoon of honey
6 weeks in summer
Let’s take a break
then we’ll
consider the bees
division of labour
3. What are the jobs of a worker bee?
Life of a worker bee can be divided into:
1. Hive/House Bee – first 3 weeks0 to 10th day = nursing/welfare
10th to 21st day = food storers
2. Field Bee – second 3 weeks21st day plus = forager
HIVE BEES –Welfare Department0 to 10th day approx.
Hatching
Cleaning the cells
Feed larvae
Undertaker bees
Queen & her attendants
HIVE BEES - Processing Department10th to 21st day approx.
Pollen packing Nectar packing
HIVE BEES - Processing Department10th to 21st day approx.
Processing nectar Propolising
HIVE BEES - Security & Construction
Department 10th to 21st day approx.
Guard bees Wax production
HIVE BEES – Security & Construction
Department10th to 21st day approx.
Cell building Cell capping
HIVE BEES - Security & Construction
Department10th to 21st day approx.
Ventilation Engineers
Temperature and bees
▪ Min outside temp to fly
▪ Min temp to open hive
▪ Temp inside brood nest
▪ Combs collapse
10° C
15° C – short sleeve weather!
35° C
47° C
FIELD BEES – Foragingover 21 days
foraging pollen Foraging Nectar
Nectar
Pollen
FIELD BEES - Foraging
Propolis Water
What is propolis?
▪ Resinous sticky gums and balsams from various
plants and trees. Common sources are :- Alder, Birch,
Cherry, Peach, Plum, Conifers, Hazel, Horse Chestnut,
Oak, Poplar & Willow
▪ Resins mixed with salivary enzymes, wax, other
foreign materials such as wax moth scales, hive litter
and organic debris. Approx. recipe is 50% resins &
balsams, 30% wax, 10% essential oils, 5% pollen & 5%
organic debris
Recap
Daily Chores Hive Bees
WELFARE DEPT.
Hatching
Cleaning Bees
Nurse Bees
Undertaker Bees
Queen attendants
PROCESSING DEPT.
Pollen packing
Nectar packing
Processing nectar
Propolising
SECURITY & CONSTRUCTION DEPT.
Guard Bees
Wax production
Cell building
Cell Capping
Ventilation Engineers
Field Bees
FORAGING DEPT.
Pollen
Nectar
Propolis
Water
Tonight we have looked at -
1. The make up of ‘The Colony’ - WHO’s WHO
2. The Individual Life Cycles - EGG TO HATCH
3. The jobs bees do - HATCH TO DISPATCH
4. Communication – PHEROMONES/DANCES/
ODOURS
References for - The Colony
1. The BBKA Guide to Beekeeping by Ivor Davis & Roger
Cullum-Kenyon Pgs. 16-31 ISBN 978-1-4729-2089-8
2. Haynes Bee Manual by Claire & Adrian Waring Pgs. 14-23
ISBN 978 0 85733V057 4
Session 5
Colony Management
next session
How do Bees Communicate?
Methods of communication:
▪ Pheromones
▪ Floral Odours
▪ Bee Dances
▪ A pheromone is a chemical message which
changes behaviour
▪ Instant change eg nasonov gland, sting
▪ Slow acting eg queen substance
Bee DancesDances incl. variables e.g. tempo, buzzing
▪ Shaking signal (wake up foragers)
▪ Round Dance (distance < 50 metres)
▪ Sickle Dance (distance 50 to 150 metres)
▪ Waggle Dance (distance & direction > 150 metres)
▪ Tremble Dance (activate food storers)
Ref: 1.Dr.Karl von Frisch (1886 -1982) Nobel Prize 1973
2.Prof. Tom Seeley The Bee Colony as a Honey Factory
(A lecture given by Tom Seeley at the 2017 National Honey Show)
3.
Round Dance & Sickle Dance
Waggle Dance distance calculator