INTRODUCTION TO BEEKEEPING

Session 3 – The ColonySat 22nd/Sun 23rd March 2014

Introductions Nigel Hurst 3 yrs beekeeping Hives in garden

Superorganism

Individuals Division of labour Superintelligence

Number of bees in a colony

1 queen~60,000 workers ~2000 dronesbut in winter

~10,000 workers 1 queen 0 dronesCourtesy of Clive de Bruyn

Honey bee castes and sexes

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

Full Colony

Main nectar flow

Number of bees in a colony

Queen’s Court or Retinue

Honey bee - development

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Eggs Open Brood Day Sealed Pupa developed Emerges Matures

Queen

Worker

Drone

Days

Larval development

Ex: Biology of the Honeybee by Mark Winston

NB: Worker and drones are laid in cells that are approximately horizontal whereas queens are laid and developed in cells that hang downwards

Workers - division of labour with age

0 - 6 days cell cleaning, general hive cleaning 3 - 9 days feeding the brood 3 - 15 days attending the queen 6 - 18 days honey processing 12 - 20 days wax production and comb building 15 - 25 days hive ventilation 18 - 35 days guard duty

20 days - death nectar collection 20 days - death pollen collection 25 days - death water & propolis collection

Summer & winter bees Summer bees

Up to 2000 a day 6 weeks (3 weeks outside of hive) Exhaustion Die away from colony

Winter bees About 20 a day Up to 6 months Disease and old age Adaptation