Introduction to

Honey Bees and

Beekeeping

Robert Kluson, Ph.D.

Ag/NR Extension Agent III

UF/IFAS Sarasota County Extension

OUTLINE

Backyard Regulations

History

Importance

Biology

Management

Honey

Backyard Regulations Summary

• Compliance agreement signed

• Follow best management practices

• 15’ from property line

• Six foot flyover

• Fenced in yard

• ¼ acre or less three hives

• Special permit for parks

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1. This is a voluntary program designed to minimize the threat of Africanized Honey

Bees (AHB) in Florida and to dilute any feral AHB populations that may become

established in Florida as our gentle managed colonies are our best line of defense

against AHB.

2. Beekeepers participating in this program must sign a compliance agreement with

the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

3. Beekeepers will maintain a valid registration with the Florida Department of

Agriculture and Consumer Services/Division of Plant Industry (FDACS/DPI), and be

current with any and all special inspection fees.

4. A Florida apiary may be deemed as EHB (European Honey Bee) with a minimum

10% random survey of colonies using the FABIS (Fast African Bee Identification

System) and/or the computer-assisted morphometric procedure, ie. universal system

for the detection of Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) (USDA-ID), or other approved

methods by FDACS on a yearly basis or as requested.

5. Honey bee colony divisions or splits should be queened with production queens or

queen cells from EHB breeder queens following Florida’s Best Management

Practices.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in874

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

EUROPEAN HONEY BEE COLONIES MAINTENANCE

6. Florida beekeepers are discouraged from collecting swarms that cannot be

immediately re-queened from EHB queen producers.

7. Florida Beekeepers should practice good swarm prevention techniques to prevent

an abundance of

virgin queens and their ready mating with available AHB drones that carry the

defensive trait.

8. Maintain all EHB colonies in a strong, healthy, populous condition to discourage

usurpation (take over) swarms of AHB.

9. Do not allow any weak or empty colonies to exist in an Apiary, as they may be

attractive to AHB swarms.

10. Recommend re-queening with European stock every six months unless using

marked or clipped queens and having in possession a bill of sale from a EHB Queen

Producer.

11. Immediately re-queen with a European Queen if previously installed clipped or

marked queen is found missing.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in874

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

EUROPEAN HONEY BEE COLONIES MAINTENANCE

12. Maintain one European drone source colony (250 square inches of drone comb)

for every 10 colonies in order to reduce supercedure queens mating with AHB drones.

13. To protect public safety and reduce beekeeping liability do not site apiaries in

proximity of tethered or confined animals, students, the elderly, general public, drivers

on public roadways, or visitors where this may have a higher likelihood of occurring.

14. Treat all honey bees with respect.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in874

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

EUROPEAN HONEY BEE COLONIES MAINTENANCE

Evolution History

• Bees’ ancestors evolved 207

to 220 million years ago

• Now: 22,000 species of bees

• 9 species of honeybee

Honey Bees Taxonomy

• Kingdom: Animalia

• Phylum: Arthropoda

• Class: Insecta

• Order: Hymenoptera

• Family: Apidae

• Subfamily: Apinae

• Tribe: Apini

• Genus: Apis

• Subgenus Micrapis:

Apis andreniformis

Apis florea

• Subgenus Megapis:

Apis dorsata

• Subgenus Apis:

Apis cerana

Apis koschevnikovi

Apis mellifera

Apis nigrocincta

World Distribution of HoneyBee Species

Apis andreniformis

Apis cerana

Apis dorsata

Apis florea

Apis koschevnikovi

Apis nigrocincta

Apis mellifera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee

Aphis mellifera Honey Bees

• Called “Western/European Honey Bee

• Originated in eastern tropical Africa and spread from there to Northern Europe and then globally

• There are many subspecies that have adapted to the local geographic and climatic environments

Coevolution: Pollinators & Flowering Plants

100 M

Yrs

BP

Fossil record that insect diversity increased dramatically following the

origin of the flowering plants 100 M Yrs BP (in the Cretaceous period).

Benefits to the Plants.

Benefits to the Pollinators.

• Benefits

– Pollen

• rich food source

– Nectar

• average ~ 40% sugar

– No benefit? - Trickery

• pseudocopulation

Bee

Ophrys –

diagram

from

Charles

Darwin

www.biol.wwu.edu/.../Coevolution/

Human History of Honey Bees

• Ancient times: cave paintings of honey gathering

• Hunter-gatherers today (or at least during the late 1900s)

• !Kung: a “sacramental adventure”

• Mbuti: hunting season as a time of festivity and magic

Mesolithic rock painting showing honey

collection from a wild nest at Valencia,

Spain http://www.mdbee.com/articles/cavepainting.html

Cultural History of Honey Bees

SACRED BEES

Honey bees and honey are present in the creation myths,

cosmologies and sacred places of many diverse ancient

cultures.

Honey bees were considered a symbol of the soul, of

death and of rebirth

The hive of honey bees symbolized a functional society.

Honey was regarded as a magical, sacred substance.

Honey has had many uses:

foods and beverages

heal wounds and cure diseases

placed in tombs and used for embalming

http://beehaven.heroku.com/history-of-bee-worship

SACRED BEES

http://sacredpathofthebee.tumblr.com/

In the mythology of ancient

Greece the Omphalos was the

beehive or stone at the center of

reality. It served as the portal to

their gods.

Omphalos stones were

erected in several areas

surrounding the Mediterranean

Sea; the most famous of those

was at the oracle in Delphi.

Persephone with the Omphalos (i.e.,

Beehive) on her head at the Eleusis

Museum in Athens

http://sacredpathofthebee.tumblr.com/

Ancient bee goddesses

included Aprodite, Artemis,

Cybele, Demeter,

Persephone, and Neith.

The ancient priestesses of

the Bee Goddesses were

known as the Melissaes in

Greek and the Deborahs in

Hebrew.

The Melissae represent

the sacred feminine tradition.

SACRED BEES

Jewelry depicting a bee goddess, Greek c. 700 BCE

The ancient Maya revered honey for its medicinal and

ritualistic uses.

In contrast, their honeybee species called “stingless bees”,or

simply meliponines, is in the tribe Meliponini of family Apidae

Unlike other eusocial bees, they do not sting but will defend

by biting if their nest is disturbed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingless_bee

SACRED BEES

Mayan Bee God Mok Chi Mayan Bee god Ah Muzen Cab

Beeshed with small front

boards over the gullet with

different little pictures

depicting Saints, people

and animals and especially

from everyday life.

SACRED BEES

Slovenian Melissae

from long history of

beekeeping.

Scenes from Slovenia Today

http://www.thezaurus.com/gallery/112

22

Importance of Pollination

• More than 75% of flowering plants depend

on animal pollinators

• In U.S., over 100 crop plants depend on

animal pollinators (value >$15 Billion)

• Most natural ecosystems would collapse

without animal pollinators

• Some plants are endangered because of

diminished pollination

Agriculture Importance

1 23

Pollination

Impacts

• About 130

US crops are

pollinated by

bees • List of crops that benefit but do not require bee visitation http://gears.tucson.ars.a

g.gov/beeclass/Pollinatio

n.pdf

1 24

Pollination Impacts • List of crops that require bee visitation

http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/beeclass/Pollination.pdf

25 Pollination Impacts

• List of crops that require bee visitation

The Honey Bee Colony –

Caste Development and

Differentiation

We know that bees have

been producing honey as

they do today for at least

150 million years. Bees

produce honey as food

stores for the hive during

the long months of winter

when flowers aren't

blooming and therefore

little or no nectar is

available to them.

Honey bees are herbivores; they eat nectar and honey.

Bee honey is composed of fructose,

glucose, and water, in varying

proportions. It also contains several

enzymes and oils. The color and

flavor depend on the age of the

honey and on the source of the

nectar.

The Honey Bee Colony –

Caste Development and Differentiation

• At the individual level, honey bees have not one but three types of colony members: queens, drones and workers, each with their own specializations and place in honey bee society.

The queen reigns over the

nest, surrounded by

attendants and fed the rich

food she requires to

perform her few but crucial

tasks in the colony. The

queen produces powerful

pheromones, chemical

signals to recipient workers

which control many of their

behaviors and provide part

of the 'social glue' which

holds honey bee life

together.

The Honey Bee Colony –

Caste Development and Differentiation

• The queen is the only sexually developed female in the hive. She is the largest bee in the colony.

• A two-day-old larva is selected by the workers to be reared as the queen. She will emerge from her cell 11 days later to mate in flight with approximately 18 drone (male) bees. During this mating, she receives several million sperm cells, which last her entire life span of nearly two years.

• The queen starts to lay eggs about 10 days after mating. A productive queen can lay 3,000 eggs in a single day.

Bee!

This is a

baby bee

hatching.

She must

chew the

cap off her

cell to

hatch.

Bee House Chores

Nurse bees feed the baby larvae and vibrate their wing muscles to keep them warm

New baby larvae and the queen eat Royal Jelly which the bees make from a gland in the

worker’s head.

Bee House Chores –

Turning Nectar into Honey

Workers fan

their wings to

dry up the

runny nectar

and turn it

into thicker

honey. Then

other

workers

come and

make wax

tops to seal

up the

honeycomb

Bee House Chores

•A young bees’ first chore is to clean

the cell they hatched from to prepare

it for the queen to lay an egg

•Bees have 8 glands on their

abdomens which create wax. As the

wax cools it turns clear and looks like

tiny scales

•Undertaker bees carry out the

bodies of dead workers and drop

them outside the hive

•They vibrate their wing muscles to

warm the hive

•They help to pack the food (honey &

pollen) in their combs

•In summer they fan their wings to

cool the hive or to make honey

More Bee House Chores •Honeycombs are built with 2 sides

and the cells are slanted upwards.

This stops the honey from running out

•Guard bees release homing

pheromones or warning scents to

send messages to the other workers

•A guard bee strikes a Karate-like

pose as she protects the hive from

intruders.

Bee House Chores – Queen Attendants

How is a queen made? A young larva is chosen by the bees and fed only royal jelly.

They make her an extra large cell because she’s bigger. She will hatch in 16 days

and then leave the hive to mate with multiple drones. Mating takes place in the air.

She will then return to the hive and stay there the rest of her life laying eggs. She lays

between 1500 and 2000 eggs a day (an egg about every 45 seconds). She does not

take time to even leave the hive to poop. Her attendant bees (young worker bees)

feed her, carry away her poop, groom her and take care of her. Queens live about 3

years.

Outside the Hive: A Field Bee

So You Think You Can Dance?

When workers find a

good source of

pollen or nectar they

return to tell the

other workers so

they can go there

too.

They dance to give

the workers

directions on where

the food source is.

Sometimes they get

very excited about

finding good food.

Bee Field Chores

Can you guess

what they are

collecting here?

It’s a yellow

coloured

powder…

The Boys - Drones

They have one job in

the hive – to mate with a

queen.

Workers must feed the

drones. They do not

collect pollen or nectar

or do any hive work.

Drones are the biggest

honey bee, with large

eyes and they have no

stinger. Can you find the drone in this

picture?

Drones Life Cycle

They have one job in

the hive – to mate with a

queen.

Workers must feed the

drones. They do not

collect pollen or nectar

or do any hive work.

Drones are the biggest

honey bee, with large

eyes and they have no

stinger. Can you find the drone in this

picture?

Bee Pests: Diseases and Mites

• 1980s: bee mite parasites

• Varroa mite

• Foul brood

http://wallpaperstock.net/honeycomb-wallpapers_w4679.html

http://www.honeybeekeeping.co.uk/cms/beekeeping-news/american-foulbrood-hits-scotland/

Healthy Honeycomb American Foul Brood European Foul Brood

Africanized Honey Bee (Apis mellifera scutellata)

is an insect pest. It is a native of Africa and was

first detected in Brazil in 1957.

Africanized Honey Bee

Apis mellifera scutellata

An aggressive bee, it migrated from Brazil and

arrived in Texas in 1990. It continues to migrate

into the southern states.

Special management of hives is required to

control Africanized honey bees – see

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg113

Parts of the Hive

•White – Called a Deep

is the food and nursery

area for the bees

•Pink, Purple & Yellow

boxes are called honey

supers and they hold

the honey for the

beekeeper

•There’s a bottom board

under the hive

•A wooden inner cover

sits on top

•A big outer cover rests

on top of everything

The Beekeeper

• Clothing &

Tools:

– Hat

– Veil

– Hive Tool

– Smoker

Frames in a Hive

• One frame has been lifted out to make room.

• Most hives have 10 frames

• A metal hive tool helps to pry out sticky frames

This is a Fame of Honey

How does honey get its different

flavours?

From the plants that are

in bloom. Such as:

Golden Rod

Summer Flowers

Buckwheat

Basswood

Blueberry

That’s where it gets its

colour from too.

Wild Combs look like Waffles

Wild bees like to build

their combs in hollow

trees (remember

Winnie the Pooh?)

Wild combs hang down

and look like a cross

between a pancake

and a waffle.

This wax and

honeycomb can be

eaten. Yummy!

Honey Extraction

The caps of the honey are sliced off

with a hot knife – these wax caps

are saved and are used to make

candles, lip balm, and furniture

polish, etc.

The frames are put in a tank called

an Extractor that has holders. Then

the frames are spun around. The

centrifugal force makes the honey

drain out.

The sticky frames are given back to

the bees to refill.

Only the extra honey produced by

the bees is taken by the beekeeper.

Spinning the Honey out of Combs As the frames spin in

the extractor the

honey runs out and

drips down into the

bottom.

Later a small tap is

turned at the bottom

and the honey pours

out into a pail.

Get your spoon

ready for a taste!

Additional Resouces

• UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research & Extension • Bee College (usually in March)

• Master Beekeeper Program

• see http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/honeybee/

• Suncoast Beekeepers Association • see http://www.suncoastbeekeepers.com/

• meetings - the third Thursday of each month at 7pm

in the Northern Trust Community Room in Lakewood

Ranch

Additional Resouces

http://pollinator.org/beesmartapp.htm

Thank You

This is Chris from Clovermead

Apiaries. He’s dressed up wearing a

bee beard of thousands of bees. Girls

can wear beards too. This is Melanie

who won a bee beard competition in

2009.

References

• Lindquist, R. Beekeeping/Apiculture - see

www.morris.umn.edu/academic/.../BEEKEEPING.LINDQUIST.ppt