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HONEY BEE BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR

LANCE WILSON

CERTIFIED MASTER BEEKEEPER GMBP

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LEARN THE SCIENCE

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African Bee

Euro

pean

Bee

Photo: Sean McCann

WHICH BEE IS AFRICANIZED?

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KILLER BEESTHE

AFRICANIZEDHONEYBEE

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WHAT IS A HONEY BEE?100 million years ago

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WHERE DID OUR WESTERN HONEY BEE COME FROM?

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TROPICAL TO TEMPERATE

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BEES ARE TROPICAL ANIMALS

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ADJUSTMENTS TO TEMPERATE LIFE

STARTED HEAT GENERATION

MOVED INTO CAVITIES

GENERATED HEAT AND FORMED CLUSTERS TO RAISE BROOD EARLY

STORED A GREAT DEAL OF HONEY FOR WINTER DEARTH

REDUCED SWARMING

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EUROPE SUBSPECIES

German Black bee

Italian Bee Carniolan

Image Randy Oliver www.scientificbeekeeping.com

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EUROPEAN ADAPTIONS

NON DEFENSIVE

OCCUPY CAVITIES

STORE HONEY

DO NOT SWARM AS MUCH

CLUSTER TO STAY WARM

THEY RECREATED THE TROPICAL CONDITIONS THAT THEY ARE PREADAPTED TO IN THE TROPICS

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AFRICAN SUBSPECIES

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AFRICAN BEEHe don’t care

Make bees not honey Very defensive-predation pressure Forage all year long Will abandon hive if disturbed-

absconding Colony out in the open

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SO WHAT'S IN THE UNITED STATES?

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German Black Bee

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GERMAN BLACK BEE

Acclimated to Cold Weather

Susceptible to Brood Diseases

Moderate Honey HoarderVery DefensiveRuns On Comb

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THEY MOVED WEST

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SECOND WAVE

1859-1922-Italians, Carniolans, etc.

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Italian

Carniolan

Fast Brood UpMaintain large PopGood Honey HoardersProne to Robbing Moderate TemperamentAcclimatized to hot

temperatures

Fast Brood Up Maintain Small Pop Disease Resistant Not Prone to Robbing Decent Honey Hoarders Prone to Swarming Very Mild Temperament Acclimatized to colder

temperatures Color of honey bees is extremely variable

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NATIONAL FERAL POPULATION

62% 37%

Italian/Carnica

German Black Bee

Delaplane lecture notes

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HONEY BEE ANATOMY

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ANATOMY

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ANATOMY

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ANATOMY

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ANATOMY

Practical Take Away!Scratch the stinger out, smoke the area.

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ANT

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NAKED BEEKEEPING

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STINGLESS BEE

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ANATOMY

Darwin

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SUPERORGANISM

DR. WHEELER 1911 Pheromones

Organs

Reproduces

Thermoregulates

Comb

Breathes

Can’t live away

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SUPERORGANISM=COMMUNISM?

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TROPHALAXIS

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THE HIVE MIND

Highest form of life?

Highly successful

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OCCUPANTS OF THE COLONY

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DRONE MATING

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MCDONALD’S

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WE KNOW INBREEDING

Is Not So Good……

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POLYANDRY

Practical Take Away!Queens replaced by the colony in the late fall or winter might do poorly.

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ADVANTAGES OF POLYANDRY

BETTER COMMUNICATION

MORE NECTAR AND POLLEN

GREATLY REDUCED PATHOGEN AND PARASITE DISEASES (TARPY AND SEELEY)

MICROBIOME-MORE BENEFICIAL AND LESS MALIGNANT BACTERIA

CORRELATED WITH GREATER LONGEVITY AND HEALTH

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QUEEN

QueenTwo Things:

Royal egg layer

Produces pheromones

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Just a figurehead

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QUEEN

ROYAL EGG LAYER

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QUEEN

PRODUCES PHEROMONES

Practical Take Away!Well formed retinue suggests a well mated queen.

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WORKER

Makes all the decisions

Does all work

Makes up 95-99%

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WORKER TASKS

NURSE BEES 1-10 DAYS

INTERMEDIATE 11-21 DAYS

FORAGING 21-35 DAYS

LONGEVITY

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FORAGING

WATER

PROPOLIS

POLLEN

NECTAR

Practical Take Away!Provide water close to your hives.

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FORAGING PROPOLIS

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FORAGING POLLEN

Contains 10-30% crude protein

Essential for brood rearing

Fidelity

Practical Take Away!Critically important, aways monitor pollen coming in and their stores

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FORAGING NECTAR

Contains 10-40% sucrose

Essential for energy

Practical Take Away!Monitor honey stores, need 3 full deeps always.

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NECTAR GUIDES

Coevolution-UV reflecting pigment Bee fidelity Attracted by color and smell

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1/3 OF THE BEES ARE FORAGERS

PARKER 1926

FORAGE FOR 2 WEEKS OUT OF A 35 DAY LIFE SPAN DURING THE SUMMER

AVERAGE POLLEN TRIP IS ONE HOUR-AVERAGE LOAD 50MG

AVERAGE NECTAR TRIP IS 30-45 MINUTE-AVERAGE LOAD 50MG

CAN COLLECT UP TO 21LBS PER DAY

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NECTAR FORAGING

START FORAGING FOR NECTAR AT 55F AND INCREASES LINEARLY UP TO 90F

55F

70F

85F

95F

105F

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WIND

Graph Dr. Hoopingarner

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SCOUTING BEHAVIOR

5-25% OF THE FORAGERS ARE SCOUTS

THEY RECRUIT OTHER BEES

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FORAGE AREA

4 MILES-OVER 50 SQUARE MILES

50% OF ¼ MILE OPTIMAL FORAGE THEORY

FORAGES STAY WITH PREFERENCE

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INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Dance

Flo

or

Honey S

tora

ge

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SEX DETERMINATION

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QUEEN WORKER-CASTE

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DEVELOPMENTAL TIMES

3-DAYS

6-Days

12-Days

Practical Take Away! Know developmental times so you can determine queen status

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WHAT THE STAGES LOOK LIKE IN THE FIELD

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QUEEN REPLACEMENT/REPRODUCTION

Emergency

Supercedure

Swarming

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QUEEN “THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!”

(monogynous societies)

Practical Take Away!If you wish to requeen you must first eliminate the existing queen

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EMERGENCY QUEEN REPLACEMENT

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SUPERCEDURE

Practical Take Away! If you see cells in the middle and the queen it is likely supercedure.

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SWARMING REPRODUCTION

Practical Take Away!If you have congestion in the spring with cells on the bottom you need to take emergency swarm control measures.

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COLONY LIFE CYCLE

MORE ACCURATE PORTRAYAL

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HIGH

LOW

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Bee Population

Nectar Flow

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SWARMING/REPRODUCTION

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COMMUNICATION

1907- Zoology DoctorateOver 70 research papersProved insects can hear and learnPioneering research on honey bee color pattern

recognitionAll later bee communication studies were based on

these methodologies

Charles Henry Turner

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COMMUNICATION

Humans

Some higher primates

Honey bees?

Karl von Frisch

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COMMUNICATION

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COMMUNICATION

Odor Plume School

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FINAL PROOF

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TEXAS A&M BEE LAB

RECOMMENDED

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www.scientificbeekeeping.com

FOR PRESENTATION INQUIRES CONTACT

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LANCE WILSON

CERTIFIED MASTER BEEKEEPER GMBP

LANCE@BEEKEEPINGHELP.COM

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QUESTIONS

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