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Honey Bee
Biology:A SweetSuccess
Jeff Littlefield
Dept. LRESMontana State U. - Bozeman
Winston after Wilson
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10,000 year old cave drawing - Spain
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The Enslavement of
BeesThe simple fact is
that the bees are
enslaved. What?
Bees slaves? Yes,bees as slaves.
http://www.vegetus.o
rg/honey/honey.htm10,000 year old cave drawing - Spain
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The Entomology of Desire
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Why Are Honey Bees
Important?
The only reason for beinga bee that I know of ismaking honey . and theonly reason for makinghoney is so that I can eatit. - W. T. Pooh
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Importance of Honey Bees
Honey The FIRST sweetener
Antimicrobial properties Fermentation product
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Importance of Honey Bees
Wax, propolis, & otherproducts
Wax candles, polish,cosmetics, etc.
Propolis
Pollen
Royal Jelly
Venom
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Importance of Honey Bees
Pollination 14.5 billion dollars/
year 130+ crops depend
on bee pollination 80% pollination is by
honey bees
http://www.adunnphotography.com
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Importance of Honey Bees
Fun!!!
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Bee History
Evolved from waspsperhaps 150 million yearsago
A recently found fossilized
bee dates back 97 millionyears First honey bee appeared
20-25 million years ago
Bee keeping by humansoccurred 3,500 years ago
First time introduced intoNorth America early16th
century
www.bursztyn.px.pl/.../boreallodape.html
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Honey Bee Races Scientific name Apismellifera
Natural rangeEurope, Eurasia,
Middle East & Africa
Approximately 24races
Often mixed orartificially bred
Winston
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Honey Bee RacesRace Italian
(Starline,
Cordovan)
Carniolan Caucasian
(Russian)
German
Black
Africanized
(aka Killer
Bees)
Species:
Subspecies
Apis mellifera
ligustica
Apis mellifera
carnica
Apis mellifera
caucasica
Apis mellifera
mellifera
Apis mellifera
scutellata
Origin Italy Alps, northernYugoslavia
Caucasus Mts -
Black & Caspian
Seas
Northern
Europe
Eastern Africa
Color Golden yellow/brown
Dark Gray/brown Lead-gray Brown/black Golden yellow
Over wintering Well (generally)
Build quickly in
spring
Well
Build quickly in
spring
Poorly
Build slowly in
spring
Well
Build slowly in
spring
Poorly
Other -Most popularhoney bee
- Tend to rob
other hives
- Usually gentle
- Swarms
frequently
- Construct comb
slowly
- Gentle
- Gum up their
hives with
propolis (treeresins and
beeswax)
- Gentle to
aggressive
-Nervous in
hive
- Swarmy
- Usually
gentle but
may be
aggressive
- Smaller nests and
swarm more
frequently
- Aggressive
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Why Are Honey Bees
Successful?
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Bees Are Social (Eusocial)
Reproductivedivision of work
Have sterilecastes
Overlappinggenerations
Cooperate in careof young
P. Denke
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Bees Are Superorganisms
Biology of the
Individual
Biology of the
Colony
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External Anatomy
scholastic.com
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External Anatomy
Winston
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External AnatomyWinston
Z. Huang
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External Anatomy
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External Anatomy
Common buttercup
Bjrn Rrslett
http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_flowers_list.html
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External Anatomy
Winston
Z. Huang
Mackean
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External Anatomy
Winston
Z. Huang
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External Anatomy
Winston
Z. Huang
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External Anatomy
Winston
Z. Huang
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External Anatomy
Winston
Z. Huang
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Internal Anatomy
Grolier's Multimedia
Encyclopedia
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Internal Anatomy
Michener
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Internal Anatomy
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Basic BiologyLife Cycle
Z. Huang
www.texasdron
e.com
Scott Camazine 2006
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Basic Biology
Development
Winston
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Adults
Winston
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Queen
One queen (normally) Only activelyreproducing female
Can produce 1,500eggs per day at theheight of the broodseason
Can live for 2-5 yrs. Controls the hivethrough pheromones
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Workers
Female Usually do not
reproduce Responsible for
most of the work
Colony will have20,000 - 70,000+
Live for 4-6
weeks in summer,4-5 months inwinter
Z. Huang
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Drones
Males Sexually mature at
2 weeks
Mate with femalevirgin queens whilein flight
Upon mating theydie
Removed from thehive in late fall
www.uni.uiuc.edu
M. Frazier
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Inside the Hive
Holldobler
Z. Huang
M. Frazier
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Division of Labor
Among females(reproduction)
Among workers (tasks)
Not fixed somewhat plastic
Depends upono
Age or development of the beeoNeeds of the colony
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Division of Labor
Workers
Young bees:
1 to 10 days
Cell cleaningTend brood
Cap brood
Attend queenZ. Huang
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Division of Labor
Workers
Middle-aged bees:
10 to 20 days old Receive nectar &
pollen Comb building
Hive cleaning
oDebris removal
oUndertakers Climate controlM. Frazier
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Division of Labor
Workers
Old bees:
20 days until death(30-45 days)
Foraging Nectar
Pollen
Water
Resin Hive defense
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Division of Labor
Foraging - Efforts
To make 1 lb honey Bees visit 2,000,000
flowers
Gather 8-10 lbs nectar Fly 55,000 miles
The life work of 1 bee =1/12 teaspoon honey
To make 1 lb wax Need to consume 8-10
lbs honey Z. Huang
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Foraging
Round Dance Waggle Dance
Dances Conveysdirection & distanceto nectar and pollen
sources
Crane after Von Ftrisch
Wikipedia
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Division of Labor
Reproduction
The Queen is theprimary reproductiveunit of the hive
Fertilized eggs may
become eitherworkers or queens
To become a queen, alarva must:
Be fed royal jelly Be fed more food
Have a larger cell Z. Huang
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Division of Labor
Reproduction New Queens arisedue to:
Swarming:The queen initiates anew queen in thehive. She then leaves
with a portion of theworkers & starts anew hive.
Supersedure:Workers kill off the oldqueen & new queensare formed. Generallyto save the existingcolony.
D. Sammataro
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Division of Labor
ReproductionNew virgin queen
Seeks out cells and killsdeveloping queens
Fight to the death withother emerging queens
She sexually matureswithin a few days &makes her mating flight
Returns to the hive &begins to lay eggs aftera few days
M. Frazier
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If she does not return to the hive -
Slide after M. Frazier
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A colony of drones
Slide after M. Frazier
M. Frazier
bees.limey.net/
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Seasons of the Hive
Winter Maintenance of
colony &temperature
Conservation of
food
Spring Increase brood
production Start of foraging
Summer Foraging Brood production Comb production Drone
development Swarming & queen
mating
Autumn Maintenance of
colony Conservation of
food Reduce brood Death of drones
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AcknowledgementsWinston, Mark L. 1987. The biology of the
honey bee. Harvard University Press. 281 p.Crane, Eva. 1990. Bees and beekeeping :science, practice, and world resources.Comstock Pub. Associates. 614 p.
Frazier, M. Penn State UniversityUnderstanding Honey Bee Biology- The Keyto Successful Beekeepinghttp://www.ento.psu.edu/teaching/main/bees/honey_bee_biology010304.pdfHuang.
Bjrn Rrslett,http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_flowers_list.html
National Honey Bee Board, www.honey.com
Photos from Huang, Z. Michigan State U.Bee Photos. http://photo.bees.net/gallery/,and various other photographers & sourcesthat I ripped off from the Internet.