Beekeeping, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (14th century)

Honey seeker depicted on 6000 year old cave painting near Valencia, Spain

Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, a bee) is the practice of intentional maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper (or apiarist) may keep bees in order to collect honey and beeswax, or for the purpose of pollinating crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1099, 296 KB) Tacuina sanitatis (XIV century) Česky | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Español | فارسی | Français | עברית | Indonesian | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Magyar | Nederlands | Polski | Português | Românǎ | Русский | Slovenščina | Српски | Sunda | 简体中文 | 正體中文 | Türkçe | Русский | Українська +/- File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1099, 296 KB) Tacuina sanitatis (XIV century) Česky | Deutsch | English | Ελληνικά | Español | فارسی | Français | עברית | Indonesian | Italiano | 日本語 | 한국어 | Magyar | Nederlands | Polski | Português | Românǎ | Русский | Slovenščina | Српски | Sunda | 简体中文 | 正體中文 | Türkçe | Русский | Українська +/- File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this... The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on wellness, based on the Taqwin al‑sihha (Tables of Health), an Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan; it exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are profusely illustrated. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (542x844, 38 KB) Apiculture- création Achilléa daprès peinture rupestre de la Cueva de Arana- libre disposition suivant GNU Public Licence daprès [1] File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (542x844, 38 KB) Apiculture- création Achilléa daprès peinture rupestre de la Cueva de Arana- libre disposition suivant GNU Public Licence daprès [1] File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file... {Cave or Rock Paintings are paintings on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. ... Look up Valencia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Western honey bee and Bee (disambiguation). ... The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ... Hive may refer to: Hive mind, one of several forms of collective consciousness The Hives, a rock band Hive (record producer), a producer in the drum and bass music genre Hive (game) is an abstract-strategy board game published in 2001 Hive Records, a record label HIVE (ISP), the smallest... A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity. ... For other uses, see Honey (disambiguation). ... For the rock song by Nirvana, see Beeswax (song). ... Carpenter bee with pollen collected from Night-blooming cereus Pollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). ... Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager (a field), and culture, from the Latin cultura cultivation in the strict sense of tillage of the soil. A literal reading of the English word yields tillage of the soil of a field.) is the production of food, feed, fiber and other goods by... An Apiary in South Carolina, Langstroth hives on pallets An apiary (also known in the US as a bee yard) is a place where beehives of honeybees are kept. ...

History of beekeeping

Origins

Globally, there are more than 20,000 species of wild bees, including many which are solitary or which rear their young in burrows and small colonies, like mason bees or bumblebees. Beekeeping, or apiculture, is concerned with the practical management of the social species of honey bees which live in large colonies of up to 100,000 individuals. In Europe and America the species universally managed by beekeepers is the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), which has several sub-species or regional varieties, such as the Italian bee (Apis mellifera ligustica ), European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) or the Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica). In the tropics other species of social bee are managed for honey production, including Apis cerana. Red Mason Bee (Osmia rufa) Mason bee is a general term for species of bees such as the orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria) and the hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons). ... Species more than 250 species and subspecies in 38 subgenera Bumblebees (also spelled bumble bee, also known as humblebee) are flying insects of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Apis mellifica Linnaeus, 1761 The Western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a species of honey bee. ... Apis mellifera ligustica is the Italian bee which is a sub-species of the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera). ... Trinomial name Apis mellifera mellifera Linaneus, 1758 The European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) was domesticated in modern times, and taken to North America in colonial times. ... Trinomial name Apis mellifera carnica Pollman, 1879 The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of Western honey bee. ... Binomial name Fabricius, 1793 Apis cerana, or the Asiatic honey bee (or the Eastern honey bee), are small honey bees of southern and southeastern Asia, such as China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea. ...

All of the Apis mellifera sub-species are capable of inter-breeding and hybridizing. Many bee breeding companies strive to selectively breed and hybridize varieties to produce desirable qualities: disease and parasite resistance, good honey production, swarm reduction, prolific breeders, mild disposition. Some of these hybrids are marketed under specific brand names, such as the 'Buckfast Bee' or 'Midnite Bee'. The advantages of the initial F1 Hybrids produced by these crosses include: hybrid vigor, increased honey productivity and greater disease resistance. The disadvantage is that in subsequent generations these advantages may fade away and hybrids tend to be very defensive, if not downright aggressive. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

For this reason other bee-breeders are trying to resurrect original native varieties such as the British Black, the French Black or the Danish Black bee - on the grounds of preserving biodiversity and producing more gentle bees. This 'native bee' movement is notable in the UK (British Isles Bee Breeding Association; BIBBA), in Ireland (Galtee Bee Breeding Group) and in Denmark. Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ...

Wild honey harvesting

Robbing honey from wild bee colonies is one of the most ancient human activities and is still practiced by aboriginal societies in parts of Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. Some of the earliest evidence of gathering honey from wild colonies is from rock painting, dating to around 13,000 BC. Robbing honey from wild bee colonies is usually done by subduing the bees with smoke and breaking open the tree or rocks where the colony is located, often resulting in the physical destruction of the colony. {Cave or Rock Paintings are paintings on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. ... See 1 E11 s for more remote dates. ...

Domestication of wild bees

At some point humans began to domesticate wild bees in artificial hives made from hollow logs, wooden boxes, pottery vessels and woven straw baskets or 'skeps'. The domestication of bees was well developed in Egypt and sealed pots of honey were found in the grave goods of Pharoahs such as Tutankhamun. Beekeeping was also documented by the Roman writers Virgil, Gaius Julius Hyginus, Varro, and Columella. Aspects of the lives of bees and beekeeping are discussed at length by Aristotle. The term Beehive can refer to several different things: Beehive (beekeeping) is a human-provided structure in which bees are induced to live and raise their young. ... Dogs and sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. ... For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Gaius Julius Hyginus, (c. ... Marcus Terentius Varro ([[116 BC]–27 BC), also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman scholar and writer, who the Romans came to call the most learned of all the Romans. ... Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (Gades in Hispania Baetica, 4 AD - ca. ... This article is about the philosopher. ...

Archaeologist Amihai Mazar of Jerusalem's Hebrew University said that findings in the ruins of the city of Rehov (with 2,000 residents at that time, Israelites and Canaanites) include 30 intact hives, 900 B.C., and evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in the Holy Land at the time of the Bible or 3,000 years ago. The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay were found in orderly rows, with 100 hives. Ezra Marcus, expert of Haifa University, said the finding was a glimpse of ancient beekeeping seen in texts and ancient art from the Near East. Religious practice was evidenced by an altar decorated with fertility figurines found alongside the hives.^[1] Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Amihai Ami Mazar (born 1942) is an Israeli archaeologist. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels biggest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ... Ury House, Aberdeenshire ruined by removal of the roof after the second world war to avoid taxation. ... Rehov (occasionally spelt Rehob) was the site of an important Bronze and Iron Age Canaanite city and is the name given to Tel Rehov תל רחוב, a large earthern city mound in the Jordan Valley of Israel, approximately 5 kilometres south of Bet Shean and 3 kilometres west of the Jordan... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... This article is about the land called Canaan. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Honey (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Holy Land (Biblical). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Bales of straw bundles of rice straw Pile of straw bales, sheltered under a tarpaulin Straw is an agricultural byproduct, the dry stalk of a cereal plant, after the nutrient grain or seed has been removed. ... For other uses, see Clay (disambiguation). ... Look up expert in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The University of Haifa (אוניברסיטת חיפה) is a university in Haifa, Israel. ... For the span of recorded history starting roughly 5,000-5,500 years ago, see Ancient history. ... This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (modern Israel/Palestine, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Georgia, Armenia, and... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... Look up Altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fertility is the natural capability of giving life. ... A rare Dresden porcelain figurine Figurine is a diminutive form of the word figure, and generally refers to a small, human-made object that represents some sort of being. ...

The definitive book on the history of beekeeping is - 'The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting' by Eva Crane. (Routledge 1999) # ISBN-10: 0415924677 # ISBN-13: 978-0415924672, 720pp.

The Scientific study of honey bees

For several thousand years of human beekeeping, human understanding of the biology and ecology of bees was very limited and riddled with superstition and folk lore. Ancient observers thought that the queen bee was in fact a male, called 'the king bee', and they had no understanding of how bees actually reproduced. It was not until the 18th Century that European natural philosophers undertook the scientific study of bee colonies and began to understand the complex and hidden world of bee biology. Preeminent among these scientific pioneers were Swammerdam (1637 - 1680), René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683 - 1757), Charles Bonnet (1720-1793) and especially the blind Swiss scientist Francois Huber (1750-1831). Swammerdam and Reaumur were among the first to use the microscope and dissection to understand the internal biology of the honey bee. Reaumur was among the first to construct a glass walled observation hive to better observe activities within the hive. He observed the queen laying eggs in open cells, but still had no idea of how the queen was fertilized; nobody had ever witnessed the mating of queen and drone and many theories held that the queen was 'self fertile' while others believed that a vapor or 'miasma' emanating from the drones fertilized the queen without direct physical contact. Huber was the first to prove by observation and experiment that the queen is physically inseminated by the drone outside the confines of the hive, usually a great distance away. Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology (from Greek: βίος, bio, life; and λόγος, logos, knowledge), also referred to as the biological sciences, is the study of living organisms utilizing the scientific method. ... For the journal, see Ecology (journal). ... For other uses, see Superstition (disambiguation). ... The queen bee is an adult, mated female in a honeybee colony or hive; she is usually the mother of all the bees in the hive. ... Jan Swammerdam (February 12, 1637, Amsterdam - February 17, 1680) was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. ... René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur. ... Bonnet Charles Bonnet (March 13, 1720 – May 20, 1793), Swiss naturalist and philosophical writer, was born at Geneva, of a French family driven into Switzerland by the religious persecution in the 16th century. ... François Huber (July 2, 1750 - December 22, 1831) was a Swiss naturalist. ...

Huber built improved glass walled observation hives (following Reaumur's design) and also sectional hives which could be opened,like the leaves of a book, to inspect individual wax combs; this greatly improved the direct observation of activity within the hive. Although he became blind before he was twenty, Huber employed a secretary, Francois Burnens, to make daily observations, conduct careful experiments, and to keep accurate notes over a period of more than twenty years. Huber confirmed that a hive consists of one queen who is the mother of all the female workers and male drones in the colony. He was the first to confirm that mating with drones takes place outside the hive, and that the queen is inseminated by a number of successive matings with male drones, high in the air at a great distance from the hive. Together, he and Burnens dissected bees under the microscope and were among the first to describe the ovaries and spermatheca (sperm store) of the queen as well as the penis of male drones. Huber is universally regarded as 'the father of modern bee-science' and his 'Nouvelles Observations sur Les Abeilles' - 1792[1] (New Observations on Bees)revealed all the basic scientific truths for the basics of the biology and ecology of honeybees. Robert Hookes microscope (1665) - an engineered device used to study living systems. ... // For ovary as part of plants see ovary (plants) An ovary is an egg-producing reproductive organ found in female organisms. ... The spermatheca is a part of the female reproductive tract in insects, some molluscs, and certain other invertebrates. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ...

Invention of the moveable comb hive

Early forms of honey collecting entailed the destruction of the entire colony when the honey was harvested. The wild hive was crudely broken into, using smoke to suppress the bees, the honeycombs were torn out and smashed up - along with the eggs, larvae and honey they contained. The liquid honey from the destroyed brood nest was crudely strained through a sieve or basket. This was destructive and unhygienic but for hunter-gatherer societies this did not matter, since the honey was generally consumed immediately and there were always more wild colonies to exploit. However, in settled societies, the destruction of the bee colony meant the loss of a valuable resource; this drawback persisted until the 19th Century, which made beekeeping both inefficient and something of a 'stop and start' activity. There could be no continuity of production and no possibility of selective breeding, since each bee colony was destroyed at harvest time, along with its precious queen. During the medieval period abbeys and monasteries were centers of beekeeping since beeswax was highly prized for candles and fermented honey was used to make alcoholic mead in areas of Europe where vines would not grow. Honeycomb Honeycombs on a Sacred fig tree A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ... Bold textTHIS IS THE PAGE THAT A.S. REALLY NEEDS!! THIS IS NOW MARKED!!! ] ps i like A.O. This article is about an abbey as a Christian monastic community. ... Monastery of St. ... Mead Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast. ...

Lorenzo Langstroth (1810-1895)

The 19th Century saw a revolution in beekeeping practice through the invention and perfection of the 'moveable comb hive' by Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, an Italian immigrant to the United States. Langstroth was the first person to make practical use of Huber's earlier discovery that there was a specific spatial measurement between the wax combs, later called 'the bee space', which bees would not block with wax, but kept as a free passage. Having determined this 'bee space' (between 5 -8 mm), Langstroth then designed a series of wooden frames within a rectangular hive box, carefully maintaining the correct bee space between successive frames, and found that the bees would build parallel honeycombs in the box without bonding them to each other or to the hive walls. This enables the beekeeper to slide any frame out of the hive for inspection, without harming the bees or the comb, protecting the eggs, larvae and pupae contained within the cells. It also meant that combs containing honey could be gently removed and the honey extracted without destroying the comb. The emptied honey combs could then be returned to the bees intact for refilling. Langstroth's classic book, The Hive and Honey-bee, published 1853, described his rediscovery of the bee space and the development of his patent moveable comb hive. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Lorenzo Langstroth (1810-1895) Rev. ... Lorenzo Langstroth (1810-1895) Rev. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

The invention of the moveable-comb-hive fostered the growth of commercial honey production on a large scale in both Europe and the USA.

Evolution of hive designs

Langstroth's design for moveable comb hives was seized upon by apiarists and inventors on both sides of the Atlantic and a wide range of moveable comb hives were designed and perfected in England, France, Germany and the United States. Classic designs evolved in each country: Dadant and Langstroth hives are still dominant in the USA; in France the De-Layens 'trough-hive' became popular and in the UK a British National Hive became standard as late as the 1930s. In some Scandinavian countries and in Russia the traditional 'trough hive' persisted until late in the 20th Century and is still kept in some areas. However, the Langstroth and Dadant designs remain ubiquitous in the USA and also in many parts of Europe, though Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France and Italy all have their own national hive designs. Regional variations of hive evolved to reflect the climate, floral productivity and the reproductive characteristics of the various subspecies of native honey bee in each bio-region. The Atlantic Ocean, not including Arctic and Antarctic regions. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

The differences in hive dimensions are insignificant in comparison to the common factors in all these hives: they are all square or rectangular; they all use moveable wooden frames; they all consist of a floor, brood-box, honey-super, crown-board and roof. Hives have traditionally been constructed of cedar, pine, or cypress wood, but in recent years hives made from injection molded dense polystyrene have become increasingly important. Species Cedrus deodara Cedrus libani    var. ... Monterey Cypresses (Cupressus macrocarpa) planted in Melbourne, Australia Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the conifer family Cupressaceae (cypress family). ... Polystyrene (IPA: ) is a polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry. ...

Pioneers of practical and commercial beekeeping

The 19th Century produced an explosion of innovators and inventors who perfected the design and production of beehives, systems of management and husbandry, stock improvement by selective breeding, honey extraction and marketing. Preeminent among these innovators were: Selective breeding in domesticated animals is the process of developing a cultivated breed over time. ... A very uniform completely filled frame, before uncapping. ...

L. L. Langstroth, Revered as the "father of American Apiculture.", no other individual has influenced modern beekeeping practice more than Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth. His classic book, 'The Hive and Honey-bee' was published in 1853. Lorenzo Langstroth (1810-1895) Rev. ...

Moses Quinby, often termed 'the father of commercial beekeeping in the United States', author of "Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained". Moses Quinby (1810—1875) was a the first commercial beekeeper in the United States, a native of St. ...

Amos Root, author of the "A B C of Bee Culture" which has been continuously revised and remains in print to this day. Root pioneered the manufacture of hives and the distribution of bee-packages in the United States Amos Ives Root (1839–1923) founder of the A. I. Root Company and developed innovative beekeeping techniques in the United States during the mid 1800s; at the time, these played an important role in the local economies of many communities. ...

A.J. Cook ("The Bee-Keepers' Guide; or Manual of the Apiary") - 1876;

Dr. C.C. Miller was one of the first entrepreneurs to actually make a living from apiculture. By 1878 he made beekeeping his sole business activity. His book, "Fifty Years Among the Bees," remains a classic and his influence on bee management persists to this day. Dr. C. C. Miller (1831 - 1920) was a practical commercial beekeeper who specialized in comb honey production. ...

Major Francesco De Hruschka was an Italian military officer who made one crucial invention that catalyzed the commercial honey industry. In 1865 he invented a simple machine for extracting honey from the comb by means of centrifugal force. His original idea was simply to support the comb in a metal framework and then spin it around within a container to collect the honey as it was thrown out by centrifugal force. This meant that honeycombs could be returned to the hive undamaged but empty - saving the bees a vast amount of work, time and materials. This single invention greatly improved the efficiency of honey harvesting and catalysed the modern honey industry.

For a more detailed description of these pioneers go to: [2]

Traditional beekeeping

Fixed frame hives

Wooden hives in Stripeikiai in Lithuania

There are considerable regional variations in the type of hive in which bees are kept. A hive is a set of rectangular wooden boxes filled with moveable wood or plastic frames, each of which holds a sheet of wax or plastic foundation. The bees build cells upon the sheets of foundation to create complete honeycombs. Foundation comes in two cell-sizes: worker foundation - which enables the bees to create small, hexagonal worker cells and 'drone foundation' which allows the bees to build much larger cells - drone cells, for the production of male bees. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1735 KB) Bee hives in honey making museum in Stripeikiai, Lithuania. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1735 KB) Bee hives in honey making museum in Stripeikiai, Lithuania. ... Wooden beehives in the beekeeping museum in Stripeikiai Stripeikiai is the oldest village in Aukštaitija National Park. ...

The bottom box, or brood chamber, contains the queen and most of the bees; the upper boxes, or supers, contain just honey. Only the young nurse bees can produce wax flakes which they secrete from between their abdominal plates; they build honeycomb using the artificial wax foundation as a starting point, after which they may raise brood or deposit honey and pollen in the cells of the comb. These frames can be freely manipulated and honey supers with frames full of honey can be taken and extracted for their honey crop.

Modern beekeeping

Movable frame hives

In the USA, the Langstroth hive is commonly used. The Langstroth was the first successful top-opened hive with movable frames, and other designs of hive have been based on it. Langstroth hive was however a descendant of Jan Dzierzon’s Polish hive designs. In the United Kingdom, the most common type of hive is the British National Hive, but it is not unusual to see some other sorts of hive (Smith, Commercial and WBC, rarely Langstroth). Straw skeps, bee gums, and unframed box hives are now unlawful in most US states, as the comb and brood cannot be inspected for diseases. However, straw skeps are still used for collecting swarms by hobbyists in the UK, before moving them into standard hives. Langstroth hives on pallets The Langstroth bee hive is the standard beehive used in many parts of the world for bee keeping. ... Jan Dzierżon Jan Dzierżon Jan Dzierżon (Polish) or Johann Dzierzon (German) (16 January 1811 – 26 October 1906) was a Polish[1][2]apiarist famous for his discovery of parthenogenesis among bees and for designing a movable-frame beehive. ... Domesticated honeybees are kept in beehives. ...

Top Bar Hives

A few hobby beekeepers are adopting various top bar hives of the type commonly found in Africa. These have no frames and the honey filled comb is not returned to the hive after extraction, as it is in the Langstroth hive. Because of this, the production of honey in a top bar hive is only about 20% that of a Langstroth hive, but the initial costs and equipment requirements are far lower. Top-bar hives also offer some advantages in interacting with the bees and the amount of weight that must be lifted is greatly reduced. Top Bar Hives are being widely used in developing countries in Africa and Asia as a result of 'Bees For Development' program. ^[2] Top-bar hives are a style of beehive used for beekeeping. ...

Protective clothing

Beekeepers often wear protective clothing to protect themselves from stings.

While knowledge of the bees is the first line of defense, most beekeepers also wear some protective clothing. Novice beekeepers usually wear gloves and a hooded suit or hat and veil. Experienced beekeepers sometimes elect not to use gloves because they inhibit delicate manipulations. The face and neck are the most important areas to protect, so most beekeepers will at least wear a veil. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2406x1805, 2443 KB) Protective clothing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Personal protective equipment Beekeeping User:Lviatour/Images/Diver Beekeeping helmet Metadata This file contains additional information... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2406x1805, 2443 KB) Protective clothing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Personal protective equipment Beekeeping User:Lviatour/Images/Diver Beekeeping helmet Metadata This file contains additional information...

Defensive bees are attracted to the breath, and a sting on the face can lead to much more pain and swelling than a sting elsewhere, while a sting on a bare hand can usually be quickly removed by fingernail scrape to reduce the amount of venom injected.

The protective clothing is generally light colored and of a smooth material. This provides the maximum differentiation from the colony's natural predators (bears, skunks, etc.) which tend to be dark-colored and furry.

Smoker

Bee smoker with heat shield and hook

Main article: Bee smoker

Smoke is the beekeeper's third line of defense. Most beekeepers use a "smoker"—a device designed to generate smoke from the incomplete combustion of various fuels. Smoke calms bees; it initiates a feeding response in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire. Smoke also masks alarm pheromones released by guard bees or when bees are squashed in an inspection. The ensuing confusion creates an opportunity for the beekeeper to open the hive and work without triggering a defensive reaction. In addition, when a bee consumes honey the bee's abdomen distends, supposedly making it difficult to make the necessary flexes to sting, though this has not been tested scientifically. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 311 KB) Bee Smoker File links The following pages link to this file: Beekeeping ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 311 KB) Bee Smoker File links The following pages link to this file: Beekeeping ... A bee smoker A bee smoker (usually called simply a smoker) is a device used in beekeeping to calm honey bees. ...

Smoke is of questionable use with a swarm, because swarms do not have honey stores to feed on in response. Usually smoke is not needed, since swarms tend to be less defensive, as they have no stores to defend, and a fresh swarm will have fed well from the hive.

Many types of fuel can be used in a smoker as long as it is natural and not contaminated with harmful substances. These fuels include hessian, pine needles, corrugated cardboard, and rotten or punky wood. Some beekeeping supply sources also sell commercial fuels like pulped paper and compressed cotton, or even aerosol cans of smoke.

Beekeeping in the United States

Development of beekeeping in the United States

John Harbison, originally from Pennsylvania, successfully brought bee keeping to the US west coast in the 1860s, in an area now known as Harbison Canyon, California, and greatly expanded the market for honey throughout the country. Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Harbison Canyon is an unincorporated community in San Diego County, California, USA. The Harbison Canyon census-designated place (CDP) had a population of 3,645 as of the 2000 census. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Beekeeping was traditionally practiced for the bees' honey harvest, although nowadays crop pollination service can often provide a greater part of a commercial beekeeper's income. Other hive products are pollen, royal jelly, and propolis, which are also used for nutritional and medicinal purposes, and beeswax, which is used in candle making, cosmetics, wood polish, and for modelling. The modern use of hive products has changed little since ancient times. For other uses, see Honey (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias content policies, the external links section for this article may require cleanup. ... Propolis is a wax-like resinous substance collected by honey bees from tree buds or other botanical sources and used as cement and to seal cracks or open spaces in the hive. ... candle wax This page is about the substance. ... This article is on the source of light. ... “Make-up” redirects here. ...

Western honey bees are not native to the Americas. American, Australian, and New Zealand colonists imported honey bees from Europe, partly for honey and partly for their usefulness as pollinators. The first honey bee species imported were likely European dark bees. Later Italian bees, Carniolan honey bees and Caucasian bees were added. Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Apis mellifica Linnaeus, 1761 The Western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a species of honey bee. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Apis mellifera mellifera Linaneus, 1758 The European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) was domesticated in modern times, and taken to North America in colonial times. ... Apis mellifera ligustica is the Italian bee which is a sub-species of the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera). ... Trinomial name Apis mellifera carnica Pollman, 1879 The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of Western honey bee. ... The Caucasian honeybee is a sub-species of the Western honeybee. ...

Western honey bees were also brought to the Primorsky Krai in Russia by Ukrainian settlers around 1850s. These Russian honey bees that are similar to the Carniolan bee were imported into the U.S. in 1990. The Russian honey bee has shown to be more resistant to the bee parasites Varroa destructor and Acarapis woodi. Administrative center Vladivostok Area - total - % water Ranked 26th - 165,900 km² - negligible Population - Total - Density Ranked 26th - est. ... // Production of steel revolutionized by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Railroads begin to supplant canals in the United States as a primary means of transporting goods. ... The Russion honeybee from the Primorsky Krai, a region in the southern extreme of the Russian Far East, belongs to the species Apis mellifera. ... The Carniolan honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a sub-species of Western honeybee. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ... Binomial name Anderson & Trueman, 2000 Low Temperature Scanning Electron Microscope (LTSEM) image of Varroa destructor on a honey bee host Varroa mites on pupa Varroa destructor on bee larva. ... Binomial name Acarapis woodi (Rennie, 1921) Acarapis woodi is a mite that is an internal parasite of honey bees. ...

Before the 1980s, most U.S. hobby beekeepers were farmers or relatives of a farmer, lived in rural areas, and kept bees with techniques passed down for generations. The arrival of tracheal mites in the 1980s and varroa mites and small hive beetles in the 1990s led to the discontinuation of the practice by most of these beekeepers as their bees could not survive among these new parasites. Common diseases, parasites, pests, and ailments of the honey bee include: // Varroa mite on a honey bee larva Main articles: Varroa destructor Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni are parasitic mites that feed off the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval bees. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Common diseases, parasites, pests, and ailments of the honeybee include: Varroa mite Acarine mites, formerly known as Tracheal mites American foulbrood (AFB) European foulbrood (EFB) Chalkbrood Nosema Small hive beetle Wax moths Chilled brood Stonebrood Pesticide losses Varroa mites Varroa mite on a honeybee larva Varroa destructor is a parasitic... Common diseases, parasites, pests, and ailments of the honey bee include: // Varroa mite on a honey bee larva Main articles: Varroa destructor Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni are parasitic mites that feed off the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval bees. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

In Asia, other species of Apis exist which are used by local beekeepers for honey and beeswax. Non-Apis species of honey bees, known collectively as stingless bees, have also been kept from antiquity in Australia and Central America, although these traditions are dying, and some of the meliponine species used are endangered. For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Races of honey bees Some biologists use race synonymously with subspecies or - in botany- variety, to refer to divisions within a species. ... For the rock song by Nirvana, see Beeswax (song). ... Genera Lestrimelitta Melipona Trigona, sensu lato: (21 genera) The stingless bees belong to the tribe Meliponini (usually called the stingless honeybee) in the family Apidae, which also comprise the common honeybees, carpenter bees, orchid bees and bumblebees. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... Genera Lestrimelitta Melipona Trigona, sensu lato: (21 genera) The stingless bees belong to the tribe Meliponini (usually called the stingless honeybee) in the family Apidae, which also comprise the common honeybees, carpenter bees, orchid bees and bumblebees. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ...

Types of beekeepers

A beekeeper collecting a bee swarm. If the queen can be swept to the frame and placed into the hive the remaining bees will follow her scent.

Beekeepers generally categorize themselves as: Download high resolution version (969x897, 283 KB)Beekeeper collecting a swarm Taken by fir0002 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (969x897, 283 KB)Beekeeper collecting a swarm Taken by fir0002 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

• Commercial beekeeper — Beekeeping is the primary source of income.
• Sideliner — Beekeeping is a secondary source of income.
• Hobbyist — Beekeeping is not a significant source of income.

Some southern U.S. and southern hemisphere (New Zealand) beekeepers keep bees primarily to raise queens and package bees for sale. In the U.S., northern beekeepers can buy early spring queens and 3- or 4-pound packages of live worker bees from the South to replenish hives that die out during the winter, although this is becoming less practical due to the spread of the Africanized bee. A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ... Species HYBRID (see text) Africanized honey bees (AHB), known colloquially as killer bees, are hybrids of the African honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata (not ; see Collet , 2006), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ...

In cold climates commercial beekeepers have to migrate with the seasons, hauling their hives on trucks to gentler southern climates for better wintering and early spring build-up. Many make "nucs" (small starter or nucleus colonies) for sale or replenishment of their own losses during the early spring. In the U.S. some may pollinate squash or cucumbers in Florida or make early honey from citrus groves in Florida, Texas or California. The largest demand for pollination comes from the almond groves in California. As spring moves northward so do the beekeepers, to supply bees for tree fruits, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries and later vegetables. Some commercial beekeepers alternate between pollination service and honey production but usually cannot do both at the same time. Species - hubbard squash, buttercup squash - cushaw squash C. moschata- butternut squash C. pepo- most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash References: ITIS 223652002-11-06 Hortus Third Squashes are four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called pumpkins and marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker. ... This article is about the fruit. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Binomial name (Mill. ...

In the Northern Hemisphere, beekeepers may harvest honey from July until October, according to the honey flows in their area. Good management requires keeping the hive free of pests and disease, and ensuring that the bee colony has room in the hive to expand. Chemical treatments, if used for parasite control, must be done in the off-season to avoid any honey contamination. Success for the hobbyist also depends on locating the apiary so bees have a good nectar source and pollen source throughout the year. Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... Larval form of some beetle is damaging specimen of Sceliphron destillatorius in entomogical collection. ... This article is about the medical term. ... Domesticated Western honey bees are kept in beehives. ... -- see Discussion -- // Northern nectar sources for honeybees The nectar source in a given area depends on the type of vegetation present and the length of their bloom period. ... Northern pollen sources for honeybees The pollen source in a given area depends on the type of vegetation present and the length of their bloom period. ...

In the Southern Hemisphere, beekeeping is an all-the-year-round enterprise, although in cooler areas (to the south of Australia and New Zealand) the activity may be minimal in the winter (May to August). Consequently, the movement of commercial hives is more localized in these areas. southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ...

Bee rentals and migratory beekeeping

Moving spring bees from South Carolina to Maine for blueberry pollination

A load of supers

After the winter of 1907, US beekeeper Nephi Miller decided to try moving his hives to different areas of the country to increase their productivity during winter. Since then, "migratory beekeeping" has become widespread in America. It is a crucial element of US agriculture, which could not produce anywhere near its current levels with native pollinators alone. Beekeepers earn much more from renting their bees out for pollination than they do from honey production. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1229x922, 288 KB) US migratory beekeepers loading tractor-trailer load of bees for transport from South Carolina to Maine to pollinate blueberries. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1229x922, 288 KB) US migratory beekeepers loading tractor-trailer load of bees for transport from South Carolina to Maine to pollinate blueberries. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...

One major US beekeeper reports moving his hives from Idaho to California in January to prepare for almond pollination in February, then to apple orchards in Washington in March, to North Dakota two months later for honey production, and then back to Idaho by November - a journey of several thousands of miles. Others move from Florida to New Hampshire or to Texas. About two thirds of US domestic bees visit California for the almond bloom in February. Official language(s) English [1] Capital Boise Largest city Boise Largest metro area Boise metropolitan area Area  Ranked 14th  - Total 83,642 sq mi (216,632 km²)  - Width 305 miles (491 km)  - Length 479 miles (771 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Binomial name (Mill. ... This article is about the fruit. ... A community apple orchard originally planted for productive use during the 1920s, in Westcliff on Sea (Essex, England) An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs maintained for food production. ... For the capital city of the United States, see Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Capital Bismarck Largest city Fargo Area  Ranked 19th  - Total 70,762 sq mi (183,272 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 340 miles (545 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... Official language(s) English Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Area  Ranked 46th  - Total 9,350 sq mi (24,217 km²)  - Width 68 miles (110 km)  - Length 190 miles (305 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

Keepers in Europe and Asia are generally far less mobile, with bee populations moving and mingling within a smaller geographic extent (although some keepers do move longer distances, it's much less common). This wider spread and intermingling in the US has resulted in far greater losses from Varroa mite infections in recent years.^[3]

The colony of bees

A colony of bees consists of three classes of bee: A queen, which is normally the only breeding female in the colony A large number of female worker bees, typically 30 - 50,000 in number A number of male drones - ranges from thousands in a strong hive in spring to very few during dearth or cold season.

The queen is the only sexually mature female in the hive and all of the female worker bees and male drones are her offspring. The queen may live for up to three years or more and may be capable of laying half a million eggs or more in her lifetime. At the peak of the breeding season - late spring to summer a good queen may be capable of laying 3,000 eggs in one day - more than her own body weight; this would be exceptional however; a prolific queen might peak at 2,000 eggs a day, but a more average queen might lay just 1500 eggs per day. The queen is raised from a normal worker egg, but is fed a larger amount of 'royal jelly' than a normal worker bee - resulting in a radically different growth and metamorphosis. The queen influences the colony by the production and dissemination of a variety of pheromones or 'queen substances'. One of these chemicals suppresses the development of ovaries in all the female worker bees in the hive and prevents them laying eggs. Fanning honeybee exposes Nasonov gland (white-at tip of abdomen) releasing pheromone to entice swarm into an empty hive A pheromone is a chemical that triggers an innate behavioural response in another member of the same species. ...

Mating of Queens

The queen emerges from her cell after 15 days of development and she remains in the hive for 3-7 days before venturing out on a mating flight. Her first orientation flight may only last a few seconds, just enough to mark the position of the hive. Subsequent mating flights may last from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, and she may mate with a number of male drones on each flight. Over several matings - possibly a dozen or more, the queen will receive and store enough sperm from a succession of drones to fertilize hundreds of thousands of eggs. If she does not manage to leave the hive to mate - possibly due to bad weather or being trapped within part of the hive - she will remain infertile and become a 'drone layer' - incapable of producing female worker bees - and the hive is doomed. For other uses, see Sperm (disambiguation). ...

Mating takes place at some distance from the hive and often several hundred feet up in the air; it is thought that this separates the strongest drones from the weaker ones - ensuring that only the fastest and strongest drones get to pass on their genes.

Fertilized Eggs and Non-Fertilized Eggs

Having achieved a successful mating, the queen will begin to lay eggs for the first time a few days later. The vast majority of eggs she lays will be fertilized eggs and will produce female worker bees. If she lays an unfertilized egg it will develop into a male drone. How the colony decides how many workers will be raised versus how many drones will be raised is not fully understood.

Female Worker Bees

Almost all the bees in a hive are female worker bees. At the height of summer when activity in the hive is frantic and work goes on non-stop, the life of a worker bee may be as short as 6 weeks; in late autumn, when no brood is being raised and no nectar is being harvested, a young bee may live for 16 weeks - right through the winter. During its life a worker bee performs different work functions in the hive which are largely dictated by the age of the bee. In Greek mythology, nectar and ambrosia are the food of the gods. ...

Male Bees - Drones

Drones are the largest bees in the hive - almost three times the size of a worker bee. They do no work, do not forage for pollen or nectar and are only produced in order to mate with new queens and fertilize them on their mating flights. A bee colony will generally start to raise drones a few weeks before building queen cells in order to supersede a failing queen or in preparation for swarming. When queen raising for the season is over, the bees in colder climates will drive the drones out of the hive to die, biting and tearing at their legs and wings; the drones have become a useless burden on the colony which can no longer be tolerated.

Differing Stages of Development

Structure of a bee colony

A domesticated bee colony is normally housed in a rectangular hive body, within which ten or twelve parallel frames house the vertical plates of honeycomb which contain the eggs, larvae, pupae and food for the colony. If one were to cut a vertical cross-section through the hive from side to side, the brood nest would appear as a roughly ovoid ball spanning 5-8 frames of comb. The two outside combs at each side of the hive tend to be exclusively used for long-term storage of honey and pollen.

Within the central brood nest, a single frame of comb will typically have a central disk of eggs, larvae and sealed brood cells which may extend almost to the edges of the frame. Immediately above the brood patch an arch of pollen-filled cells extends from side to side, and above that again a broader arch of honey-filled cells extends to the frame tops. The pollen is protein-rich food for developing larvae, while honey is also food but largely energy rich rather than protein rich. The nurse bees which care for the developing brood secrete a special food called 'royal jelly' after feeding themselves on honey and pollen. The amount of royal jelly which is fed to a larva determines whether it will develop into a worker bee or a queen. SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea), prairie hollyhock (Sidalcea malviflora), oriental lily (Lilium auratum), evening primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ...

Apart from the honey stored within the central brood frames, the bees store surplus honey in combs above the brood nest. In modern hives the beekeeper places separate boxes, called 'supers', above the brood box, in which a series of shallower combs is provided for storage of honey. This enables the beekeeper to remove some of the supers in the late summer, and to extract the surplus honey harvest, without damaging the colony of bees and its brood nest below. If all the honey is 'stolen', including the amount of honey needed to survive winter, the beekeeper must replace these stores by feeding the bees sugar or corn syrup in autumn.

Annual cycle of a bee colony

The development of a bee colony follows an annual cycle of growth which begins in spring with a rapid expansion of the brood nest, as soon as pollen is available for feeding larvae. Some production of brood may begin as early as January, even in a cold winter, but breeding accelerates towards a peak in May (in the northern hemisphere), producing an abundance of harvesting bees synchronised to the main 'nectar flow' in that region. Each race of bees times this build-up slightly differently, depending on how the flora of its original region blooms. Some regions of Europe have two nectar flows - one in late spring and another in late August. Other regions have only a single nectar flow. The skill of the beekeeper lies in predicting when the nectar flow will occur in his area and in trying to ensure that his colonies achieve a maximum population of harvesters at exactly the right time.

The key factor in this is the prevention, or skillful management of the swarming impulse. If a colony swarms unexpectedly and the beekeeper does not manage to capture the resulting swarm, he is likely to harvest significantly less honey from that hive, since he will have lost half his worker bees at a single stroke. If, however, he can use the swarming impulse to breed a new queen but keep all the bees in the colony together, he will maximize his chances of a good harvest. It takes many years of learning and experience to be able to manage all these aspects successfully - though owing to variable circumstances many beginners will often achieve a good honey harvest.

Art of beekeeping