Biology of the European Honey Bee

What is a Honey Bee?

Social Insects

Pollinators

Honey

Wax

Order: Hymenoptera

Cicada Killer Wasp

Honey BeeApis mellifera

Other Honey Bees - Family Apidae

Apis dorsata

Giant honey beeApis cerena

Asiatic honey bee

Apis florea

Little honey bee

Life Cycle of a Honey Bee

Social Insects: Honey Bee Castes

Stages of a Developing Honey Bee

Queen

Lays eggs - 1,500 a day

Mates only once with several drones

Queens lay fertilized or unfertilized eggsfertilized – queen or workerunfertilized – drone

Queen – fed royal jelly as larvae

Only one queen in a hive – kill other queens

Fed and groomed by workers

Swarming – queen must loose weight to fly

Worker Bees - House Bees to Field Bees

Cleaning

Nurse bees

Fanning

Nectar transfer

Wax production

Guard bees

Foraging

Drones – male honey bees

•Mate with an unfertilized queen

•Genetic diversity • Queens mate with several drones

Drone eggs are not fertilized

No stinger

Don’t gather pollen or nectar

Drone Congregation Area males from different colonies

Larger Eyes

Bullet shaped cells

Hive Frames

Branched Hairs to Collect Pollen

Wax Production by Workers

Honey Super with Capped Honey

Honey Bee Communication Glands and Pheromones

Alarm PheromoneStinging

Nasonov Pheromone”We are over here”

Queen cell

Swarm

Honey Bee Communication

and Vision

Bee Space

Questions?