Post edit August 2017--by Jacobs
This Study Guide with answers (mostly by Ski) remains very useful, but the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association has published a new and updated study guide available on the NCSBA website.
Post edit February 2012
Study Guide
This study Guide was originally posted on the North Carolina State University Web site as a study Guide for the certified beekeeping test. In 2011 the University lost funding and the program was dropped by the university and was picked up by the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association. Since the University was no longer involved in the certification program it dropped the study guide from its web site.
Certified Beekeeping test Study Guide
1. Honey Bee Biology
A. Anatomy and Development
What are the four stages of honey bee development?
How are they different? What is the purpose of each stage?
What are the three main body structures of an adult bee?
What are their respective functions?
What primary organs are contained in each?
What are the different sensory structures of the adult bee?
Which of the five senses does each use? What is the primary mode that honey bees use to communicate?
What are the two sexes in the colony?
What are the two castes?
What is the development cycle of each?
What is different about them?
B. Social System.
What is the primary function of drone bees?
How do they accomplish this?
What is the primary function of the queen bee?
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony?
What are her distinguishing characteristics?
What do the worker bees do within the nest?
How do their tasks change as a function of age?
C LIFE CYCLE
Where do Honey bees live? What material do they use to construct their nests? Why are their combs built the way they are?
What does a typical honey bee colony in North Carolina do in the Winter?
Spring? Summer? Autumn? How might this idealized life cycle change in a different place (e.g., Canada)?
What foods do bees collect? Where are the food stores kept in the colony? And the developing brood? Is there any pattern to their relative positions?
What do honey bees eat? How do they forage for these various food items?
What is the mating system of honey bees? How do the queens accomplish this? When does mating take place? Where?
When does a colony produce new queens? How are new colonies formed? What is the purpose of forming a new colony?
II. HONEY BEE MANAGEMENT
A. Hive equipment and bee keeping tools.
What are the components of the modern hive? What is purpose of each?
B. Basic hive manipulation
What is the proper technique to opening a hive of bees?
What are some behaviors that should always be done?
What are some behaviors that should be minimized? (in other words what do honey bees like and dislike when we work them?)
How should the frames be manipulated?
Where should they be placed if removed from the hive?
What is the proper technique to putting a colony back together?
What are some things that can be done to minimize burr comb?
Why would a colony need to be requeened ?
What is the basic procedure of requening a colony?
What schedule of events should or must take place?
What are the difficulties that must be overcome?
How might they be resolved? What are the pros and cons of both spring and fall requeening?
C. Establishing a bee yard
What are some characteristics of a location that is favorable to keep bees? What is unfavorable?
How should the hive be facing in the yard?
What is the benefit of orienting the hives in this way? What are some things that can be done within a yard to protect your hives from pests and predators, such as ants, bears, and other bees?
D. Disease
1. Go online to http://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/apiculture/
Extension
Beekeeping Notes
E. Non-disease disorders
How can you tell if brood has died from chilling rather than disease?
What can you do to reduce the chances that the brood gets too cold
What are the symptoms of a pesticide poisoning of a colony?
What can be done to reduce the risks of expositing your bees to pesticide spraying?
What are the symptoms of a queenless colony?
How do you go about requeening it?
Is the process different from requeening a queenright colony?
How can you tell if a colony has laying workers?
What can you do with a laying worker colony?
What are the signs that the bees are trying to supersede their queen?
What should you do?
How can you tell if brood has died from chilling rather than disease?
What can you do to reduce the chances that the brood gets too cold.
F. Seasonal management
........................................................................................................................
Beginning of 2007 post
I have started assembling answers for the certified level of the study guide. I would appreciate any help in pointing out areas that need tweking if you will. I plan on using this info as the review for taking the final exam. ANY help from the people that have been through the test would be greatly appreciated. The biology part is here I plan on doing the other parts as we continue through the course. ANY one else that wants to study or help with the other parts please feel free to post them. Maybe we can all learn a little more that way.
Thanks,
ski
The formatting may be off as this was pasted in from microsoft word.
MASTER BEEKEEPER PROGRAM
CERTIFIED LEVEL
STUDY GUIDE
1. Honey Bee Biology
A. Anatomy and Development
What are the four stages of honey bee development? How are they different? What is the purpose of each stage?
The four stages are:
Egg – The egg is very small 1.7 mm long and 0.4 mm wide. The purpose is to hatch into a larva 3 days after it is laid.
Larva or Larvae – Looks like a small grub curled up in the cell. The purpose is to eat and grow shedding its skin 5 times. Eats royal jell at first and then if it is to become a worker it is fed pollen and honey. After 5 days the cell is capped.
Pupa – The pupa spins a cocoon and develops into a bee. After 12 days the adult bee chews her way through the wax capping to begin work as an adult.
16 days for a queen
21 days for a worker
24 days for a drone
Adult – A fully developed bee that starts performing the tasks of the hive.
Days 1-3 Housekeeping – cleans and polishes cells for other eggs and honey and pollen storage.
Days 3-16 undertaking removes dead bees from the hive.
Days 4-12 Nurse bees, feeding and caring for the developing larvae. They feed pollen , honey and royal jelly produced from the hypopharyngeal gland in the worker bees head.
Days 7-12 attending to the queen, they groom, feed, remove queen waste and coax the queen to lay eggs.
Days 12-18 young worker bees take nectar from foraging bees and place it in cells. They add an enzyme to the nectar and fan it to remove the moisture and turn the nectar into honey. The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the hive.
Days 12-18 Fanning – The bees beat their wings or fan to create drafts to regulate the temperature of the hive. They also fan to release a pheromone from their Nassanoff gland that acts as an orientation message to returning foragers.
Days 12-35 Builders – they produce flakes of wax from the wax gland on the underside of the bees abdomen. They help build new comb and in capping honey and cells.
Days 18-21 Guarding – guard the hive from strange bees or other pests wanting to steal honey or eat bees.
Days 22-42 field bee – Takes orientation flights and begins the last task of the honey bees life. Foraging for pollen, nectar, water, and propolis.
What are the three main body structures of an adult bee? What are their respective functions? What primary organs are contained in each?
Head – The head houses the bees brain, and primary sensory organs (sight, feel, taste and smell). It also is where the gland for making royal jelly is located as well as glands for pheromones used for communications. The primary organs located here are the eyes, antennae, mouth and proboscis.
Thorax – The thorax is between the head and the abdomen. It is where the two pairs of wings and the six legs are attached.
The wings have Hamuli that are hooks that attach the two sets of wings together.
It also has Spiracles used to breathe. The spiracles are attached to trachea which are tubes used to circulate the air.
The 3 pairs of legs are segmented making them very flexible. The front legs are used to clean the antennae. The middle set of legs are used for walking and packing the pollen. The rear set is where the pollen baskets are located.
Abdomen – The back part of the bee. It contains the digestive organs, reproductive organs, 4 pairs of wax sent glands (workers only) and the stringer.
Stinger - The stinger is similar in structure and mechanism to an egg-laying organ, known as the ovipositor, possessed by other insects. In other words, the sting is a modified ovipositor that ejects venom instead of eggs. Thus, only female bees can have a stinger.
What are the different sensory structures of the adult bee? Which of the five senses does each use? What is the primary mode that honey bees use to communicate?
Antennae – Uses smell and feel . In honey bees, the segmented antennae are important sensory organs. The antennae can move freely since their bases are set in small socket-like areas on the head. Each of the antennae are connected to the brain by a large double nerve that is necessary to accommodate all of the crucial sensory input. The tiny sensory hairs on each antenna are responsive to stimuli of touch and odor.
Eyes – Sight - the compound eye is its ability to detect movement. Honey preference for broken figures. Honey bees also have three smaller eyes in addition to the compound eyes. These simple eyes or "ocelli" are located above the compound eyes and are sensitive to light, but can't resolve images.
Legs – The bees have taste receptors on the end of the legs
Proboscis - TasteThe proboscis of the honey bee is simply a long, slender, hairy tongue that acts as a straw to bring the liquid food (nectar, honey and water) to the mouth. When in use, the tongue moves rapidly back and forth while the flexible tip performs a lapping mo tion. After feeding, the proboscis is drawn up and folded behind the head. Bees can eat fine particles like pollen, which is used as a source of protein, but cannot handle big particles.
The primary mode honey bees use to communicate is Chemical or the use of pheromones.
What are the two sexes in the colony? What are the two castes? What is the development cycle of each? What is different about them?
The two sexes in the colony are Male and female.
The two castes are (three castes ) Worker Drone and queen.
The development cycle in days for each are as follows:
Egg Larva Pupa
Drone 3 14 - 7 uncapped 7
Worker 3 10 – 5 uncapped 8
Queen 3 9 – 5 uncapped 4
The differences between the Drone worker and Queen are as follows:
Drone – Male bee that does no work in the hive but consume the stores. Its only purpose in life is to mate. After mating it dies. The drone is also larger in size. Comes from an unfertilized egg.
Queen – Exists only to lay eggs. It is fed royal jelly for all of its life.
Worker – is fed royal jelly for a period of time but is then changed over to being fed pollen and honey. It is the smallest of the 3 castes and performs all other tasks in the hive. House keeping, Cleaning cells, undertaking, nurse, storage, building, guarding, field bee or forager.
Study Guide
Study Guide
Last edited by ski on Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
>>>The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the hive. <<<
Is it food for the hive, or food for the brood. Do adult bees eat pollen?
>>>Egg – The egg is very small 1.7 mm long and 0.4 mm wide. The purpose is to hatch into a larva 3 days after it is laid.
Larva or Larvae – Looks like a small grub curled up in the cell. The purpose is to eat and grow shedding its skin 5 times. Eats royal jell at first and then if it is to become a worker it is fed pollen and honey. After 5 days the cell is capped.
Pupa – The pupa spins a cocoon and develops into a bee. After 12 days the adult bee chews her way through the wax capping to begin work as an adult.<<<
3+5+12=20.....Where is the other day of the 21?
>>>>Abdomen – The back part of the bee. It contains the digestive organs, reproductive organs, 4 pairs of wax sent glands (workers only) and the stringer.
Stinger - The stinger is similar in structure and mechanism to an egg-laying organ, known as the ovipositor, possessed by other insects. In other words, the sting is a modified ovipositor that ejects venom instead of eggs. Thus, only female bees can have a stinger.<<<<
Where is the honey stomach?
Here is a site you may want to spend some time on. It is a beekeeping test, and is said to use different questions each time you take it.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=1909.0
Is it food for the hive, or food for the brood. Do adult bees eat pollen?
>>>Egg – The egg is very small 1.7 mm long and 0.4 mm wide. The purpose is to hatch into a larva 3 days after it is laid.
Larva or Larvae – Looks like a small grub curled up in the cell. The purpose is to eat and grow shedding its skin 5 times. Eats royal jell at first and then if it is to become a worker it is fed pollen and honey. After 5 days the cell is capped.
Pupa – The pupa spins a cocoon and develops into a bee. After 12 days the adult bee chews her way through the wax capping to begin work as an adult.<<<
3+5+12=20.....Where is the other day of the 21?
>>>>Abdomen – The back part of the bee. It contains the digestive organs, reproductive organs, 4 pairs of wax sent glands (workers only) and the stringer.
Stinger - The stinger is similar in structure and mechanism to an egg-laying organ, known as the ovipositor, possessed by other insects. In other words, the sting is a modified ovipositor that ejects venom instead of eggs. Thus, only female bees can have a stinger.<<<<
Where is the honey stomach?
Here is a site you may want to spend some time on. It is a beekeeping test, and is said to use different questions each time you take it.
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=1909.0
Interesting I thought all the bees ate pollen as well as honey. But pollen is just for the brood.
Changes to study guide:
The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the brood as it is mixed with honey to make bee bread.
Larva or Larvae – Begins as a small grub curled up in the cell. The purpose is to eat and grow shedding its skin 5 times. Eats royal jell at first and then if it is to become a worker it is fed pollen and honey. After 10 days it is considered a pupa, the cell is capped after the 5th day.
Pupa – The pupa spins a cocoon and develops into a bee. After 8 days the adult bee chews her way through the wax capping to begin work as an adult.
Abdomen – The back part of the bee. It has 9 segments and contains the digestive organs, reproductive organs, 4 pairs of wax sent glands (workers only), stinger and the honey stomach which is in front of the true stomach.
Stinger - The stinger is similar in structure and mechanism to an egg-laying organ, known as the ovipositor, possessed by other insects. In other words, the sting is a modified ovipositor that ejects venom instead of eggs. Thus, only female bees can have a stinger.
I will edit the above guide with the changes, if I can.
Changes to study guide:
The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the brood as it is mixed with honey to make bee bread.
Larva or Larvae – Begins as a small grub curled up in the cell. The purpose is to eat and grow shedding its skin 5 times. Eats royal jell at first and then if it is to become a worker it is fed pollen and honey. After 10 days it is considered a pupa, the cell is capped after the 5th day.
Pupa – The pupa spins a cocoon and develops into a bee. After 8 days the adult bee chews her way through the wax capping to begin work as an adult.
Abdomen – The back part of the bee. It has 9 segments and contains the digestive organs, reproductive organs, 4 pairs of wax sent glands (workers only), stinger and the honey stomach which is in front of the true stomach.
Stinger - The stinger is similar in structure and mechanism to an egg-laying organ, known as the ovipositor, possessed by other insects. In other words, the sting is a modified ovipositor that ejects venom instead of eggs. Thus, only female bees can have a stinger.
I will edit the above guide with the changes, if I can.
here is another update to the study guide.
Days 12-18 young worker bees take nectar from foraging bees and place it in cells. The act of exchanging food between nestmates is called trophallaxis. They add an enzyme to the nectar and fan it to remove the moisture and turn the nectar into honey. The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the brood as it is mixed with honey to make bee bread.
I am going to move on to section IB Social system.
Days 12-18 young worker bees take nectar from foraging bees and place it in cells. The act of exchanging food between nestmates is called trophallaxis. They add an enzyme to the nectar and fan it to remove the moisture and turn the nectar into honey. The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the brood as it is mixed with honey to make bee bread.
I am going to move on to section IB Social system.
Part B Social System
OK here is the 1. Honey bee bioligy part B Social System.
Once again any comments changes or CORRECTIONS are WELCOME I want to pass this test.
B. Social System
What is the primary function of drone bees? How do they accomplish this? What is the primary function of the queen bee? What is her relationship to the other members of the colony? What are her distinguishing characteristics? What do the worker bees do within the nest? How do their tasks change as a function of age?
What is the primary function of drone bees? The primary function of drone bees is to mate.
How do they accomplish this? Drones come out of their cells after 24 days and eat and beg food from workers. They are mature in 12 days and can take mating flights around 2-4 in the afternoon. Their large eyes help them to spot queens that are out for mating flights. The queens and drones meet in places away from their respective colonies called drone congregation areas or DCA’s. Mating occurs well above ground from 30 to 300 feet in the air. After mating the drone’s sex organ and some internal anatomy is left in the queen, the drone dies.
What is the primary function of the queen? The primary function of the queen is to lay eggs. The queen also releases pheromones from her mandibar (jaw) glands that let the colony know the queen is there and stimulates the workers to perform their work. The queen can lay more then 1500 eggs a day.
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony. If the queen emerged from a queen cell in the hive the queen would be a sister to the existing workers and a brother to the drones.
What are her distinguishing characteristics? The queens distinguishing characteristics are a long tapered abdomens and are larger then workers.
What do the worker bees do within the nest? How do their tasks change as a function of age?Days 1-3 Housekeeping – cleans and polishes cells for other eggs and honey and pollen storage.
Days 3-16 undertaking removes dead bees from the hive.
Days 4-12 Nurse bees, feeding and caring for the developing larvae. They feed pollen , honey and royal jelly produced from the hypopharyngeal gland in the worker bees head.
Days 7-12 attending to the queen, they groom, feed, remove queen waste and coax the queen to lay eggs.
Days 12-18 young worker bees take nectar from foraging bees and place it in cells. The act of exchanging food between nestmates is called trophallaxis. They add an enzyme to the nectar and fan it to remove the moisture and turn the nectar into honey. The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the brood as it is mixed with honey to make bee bread.
Days 12-18 Fanning – The bees beat their wings or fan to create drafts to regulate the temperature of the hive. They also fan to release a pheromone from their Nassanoff gland that acts as an orientation message to returning foragers.
Days 12-35 Builders – they produce flakes of wax from the wax gland on the underside of the bees abdomen. They help build new comb and in capping honey and cells.
Days 18-21 Guarding – guard the hive from strange bees or other pests wanting to steal honey or eat bees.
Days 22-42 field bee – Takes orientation flights and begins the last task of the honey bees life. Foraging for pollen, nectar, water, and propolis.
Once again any comments changes or CORRECTIONS are WELCOME I want to pass this test.
B. Social System
What is the primary function of drone bees? How do they accomplish this? What is the primary function of the queen bee? What is her relationship to the other members of the colony? What are her distinguishing characteristics? What do the worker bees do within the nest? How do their tasks change as a function of age?
What is the primary function of drone bees? The primary function of drone bees is to mate.
How do they accomplish this? Drones come out of their cells after 24 days and eat and beg food from workers. They are mature in 12 days and can take mating flights around 2-4 in the afternoon. Their large eyes help them to spot queens that are out for mating flights. The queens and drones meet in places away from their respective colonies called drone congregation areas or DCA’s. Mating occurs well above ground from 30 to 300 feet in the air. After mating the drone’s sex organ and some internal anatomy is left in the queen, the drone dies.
What is the primary function of the queen? The primary function of the queen is to lay eggs. The queen also releases pheromones from her mandibar (jaw) glands that let the colony know the queen is there and stimulates the workers to perform their work. The queen can lay more then 1500 eggs a day.
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony. If the queen emerged from a queen cell in the hive the queen would be a sister to the existing workers and a brother to the drones.
What are her distinguishing characteristics? The queens distinguishing characteristics are a long tapered abdomens and are larger then workers.
What do the worker bees do within the nest? How do their tasks change as a function of age?Days 1-3 Housekeeping – cleans and polishes cells for other eggs and honey and pollen storage.
Days 3-16 undertaking removes dead bees from the hive.
Days 4-12 Nurse bees, feeding and caring for the developing larvae. They feed pollen , honey and royal jelly produced from the hypopharyngeal gland in the worker bees head.
Days 7-12 attending to the queen, they groom, feed, remove queen waste and coax the queen to lay eggs.
Days 12-18 young worker bees take nectar from foraging bees and place it in cells. The act of exchanging food between nestmates is called trophallaxis. They add an enzyme to the nectar and fan it to remove the moisture and turn the nectar into honey. The pollen is also stored in cells as food for the brood as it is mixed with honey to make bee bread.
Days 12-18 Fanning – The bees beat their wings or fan to create drafts to regulate the temperature of the hive. They also fan to release a pheromone from their Nassanoff gland that acts as an orientation message to returning foragers.
Days 12-35 Builders – they produce flakes of wax from the wax gland on the underside of the bees abdomen. They help build new comb and in capping honey and cells.
Days 18-21 Guarding – guard the hive from strange bees or other pests wanting to steal honey or eat bees.
Days 22-42 field bee – Takes orientation flights and begins the last task of the honey bees life. Foraging for pollen, nectar, water, and propolis.
lol Its a new day with the queen going both ways.
I think I read that sentence 3-4 times it didn't sound right but I couldn't see it.
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony. If the queen emerged from a queen cell in the hive the queen would be a sister to the existing workers and a brother to the drones.
Correct to read:
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony. If the queen emerged from a queen cell in the hive the queen would be a sister to the existing workers and the drones would be her brothers.
I think I read that sentence 3-4 times it didn't sound right but I couldn't see it.
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony. If the queen emerged from a queen cell in the hive the queen would be a sister to the existing workers and a brother to the drones.
Correct to read:
What is her relationship to the other members of the colony. If the queen emerged from a queen cell in the hive the queen would be a sister to the existing workers and the drones would be her brothers.
Handout from Feb 8th class... Tables just don't transfer into this website well at all. 
HONEY BEE BIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE
Classification
Europian honey bee scientific name is Apis mellifera
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Anthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Species: mellifera
Races (subspecies) are all Apis mellifera , but due to environmental conditions in which they evolved, certain characteristics developed creating differences. They are still able to mate with different races and produce young. There are 24 different subspecies and some examples are Italians (Apis mellifera ligustica), carniolans (apis mellifera carnica) and Caucasians (apis mellifera caucasica).
Hybrids can also be developed to enhance desirable traits (increased honey production, increased egg laying by queen, fast spring build-up) and /or minimize undesirable traits ( aggression, swarming, propolis production).
Anatomy
All insects 3 distinct body regions (head, thorax and abdomen)
All insects Exoskeleton
All insects 1 pair of antenna Smelling
All insects 3 pairs of legs attached to their thorax
All insects 2 pairs of wings also attached to their thorax
All insects Spiracles and trachea Breathing
All Hymenoptera Hamuli Hold the front and
rear wings together
Only Honey Bees Pollen baskets Store pollen to
transport to hive
Only Honey Bees Body hairs Aid in pollination
Only Honey Bees Specialized mouth parts
(1 pr. Mandibles, 1 pr. Maxillae,
a hypopharynx & a labium) Colecting nectur
Only Honey Bees Honey stomach Nectar storage
Only Honey Bees Sting with barbs abd a
venom sac Defend hive
Behavior
Honey bees are eusocial – they 1. cooperate in raisng the young, 2. there are both reproductive (queen and drone) and sterile castes (workers) and 3. generations overlap.
Honey bee colonies contain 3 castes
Caste No. in hive Sex(F/M) Days to develop Job
Queen 1 F 16 Mates with drones and
lays all eggs
Worker Many F 21 All remaining tasks
Drone Many M 24 Mates w/ queen
The queen makes one mating flight in her life, during which she mates with multiple drones. She returns to the hive and spends the rest of her life laying eggs. She chooses which eggs she fertilizes and which eggs she does not as she is laying them. Females eggs (workers and queen) are fertilized while male eggs (drones) are unfertilized.
They develop from an egg into a larva which grows until it is ready to pupate. At this time a worker seals the cell and the larva becomes a pupa and several days later emerges as an adult.
Egg ® Larva ® Pupa ® Adult
When workers emerge from their cells as adults, they begin doing jobs inside of the hive and gradually change to performing jobs where they spend time outside as they age. Some examples of jobs that young bees perform are cleaning cells, nursing, tending the queen, processing food and building honey comb. Jobs that older bees might do include ventilating the hive, storing nectar or pollen, guarding and foraging for food or water.
Honey bees communicate primarily by chemical means due to the dark enviroment of the hive. This involves releasing pheromones which are chemical signals that are produced by glands inside the bee that other bees detect with their antenna either through the air or by touching each other. Pheromones can also be shared between bees through trophallaxis. This is when food is exchanged between nestmates.
Peromone Who What
Queen pheromone Queen Inhibits workers from laying eggs
Alarm pheromone Workers Recruits others to defend hive
Dance language is another form of communication that bees use to tell others the lacation of a food or water source. This was studied by Karl Von Frisch. When a bee leaves the hive in search of food she must remember the location of the hive. Bees do this by noting the position of the sun in relation to the hive. She then searches out a food source and when she finds one, after collecting pollen or nectar, returns to the hive and remembers the location of the food source using 1. the suns position and polarized light, 2. landmarks and 3. ultraviolet light rays. Inside the hive she translates this visual information into a pattern of movements that the other bees can follow to find the same food source.
Distance from food source = length of line walked
Direction to food source = angle of line
Drawing of figure 8 dance and angle of sun.
Good references
The Biology of the Honey Bee, Mark Winston
The Beekeepers Handbook, Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile
Borth Carolina State Beekeeping Association, http://www.ncbeekeepers.org
HONEY BEE BIOLOGY STUDY GUIDE
Classification
Europian honey bee scientific name is Apis mellifera
Kingdom: Animal
Phylum: Anthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Species: mellifera
Races (subspecies) are all Apis mellifera , but due to environmental conditions in which they evolved, certain characteristics developed creating differences. They are still able to mate with different races and produce young. There are 24 different subspecies and some examples are Italians (Apis mellifera ligustica), carniolans (apis mellifera carnica) and Caucasians (apis mellifera caucasica).
Hybrids can also be developed to enhance desirable traits (increased honey production, increased egg laying by queen, fast spring build-up) and /or minimize undesirable traits ( aggression, swarming, propolis production).
Anatomy
All insects 3 distinct body regions (head, thorax and abdomen)
All insects Exoskeleton
All insects 1 pair of antenna Smelling
All insects 3 pairs of legs attached to their thorax
All insects 2 pairs of wings also attached to their thorax
All insects Spiracles and trachea Breathing
All Hymenoptera Hamuli Hold the front and
rear wings together
Only Honey Bees Pollen baskets Store pollen to
transport to hive
Only Honey Bees Body hairs Aid in pollination
Only Honey Bees Specialized mouth parts
(1 pr. Mandibles, 1 pr. Maxillae,
a hypopharynx & a labium) Colecting nectur
Only Honey Bees Honey stomach Nectar storage
Only Honey Bees Sting with barbs abd a
venom sac Defend hive
Behavior
Honey bees are eusocial – they 1. cooperate in raisng the young, 2. there are both reproductive (queen and drone) and sterile castes (workers) and 3. generations overlap.
Honey bee colonies contain 3 castes
Caste No. in hive Sex(F/M) Days to develop Job
Queen 1 F 16 Mates with drones and
lays all eggs
Worker Many F 21 All remaining tasks
Drone Many M 24 Mates w/ queen
The queen makes one mating flight in her life, during which she mates with multiple drones. She returns to the hive and spends the rest of her life laying eggs. She chooses which eggs she fertilizes and which eggs she does not as she is laying them. Females eggs (workers and queen) are fertilized while male eggs (drones) are unfertilized.
They develop from an egg into a larva which grows until it is ready to pupate. At this time a worker seals the cell and the larva becomes a pupa and several days later emerges as an adult.
Egg ® Larva ® Pupa ® Adult
When workers emerge from their cells as adults, they begin doing jobs inside of the hive and gradually change to performing jobs where they spend time outside as they age. Some examples of jobs that young bees perform are cleaning cells, nursing, tending the queen, processing food and building honey comb. Jobs that older bees might do include ventilating the hive, storing nectar or pollen, guarding and foraging for food or water.
Honey bees communicate primarily by chemical means due to the dark enviroment of the hive. This involves releasing pheromones which are chemical signals that are produced by glands inside the bee that other bees detect with their antenna either through the air or by touching each other. Pheromones can also be shared between bees through trophallaxis. This is when food is exchanged between nestmates.
Peromone Who What
Queen pheromone Queen Inhibits workers from laying eggs
Alarm pheromone Workers Recruits others to defend hive
Dance language is another form of communication that bees use to tell others the lacation of a food or water source. This was studied by Karl Von Frisch. When a bee leaves the hive in search of food she must remember the location of the hive. Bees do this by noting the position of the sun in relation to the hive. She then searches out a food source and when she finds one, after collecting pollen or nectar, returns to the hive and remembers the location of the food source using 1. the suns position and polarized light, 2. landmarks and 3. ultraviolet light rays. Inside the hive she translates this visual information into a pattern of movements that the other bees can follow to find the same food source.
Distance from food source = length of line walked
Direction to food source = angle of line
Drawing of figure 8 dance and angle of sun.
Good references
The Biology of the Honey Bee, Mark Winston
The Beekeepers Handbook, Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile
Borth Carolina State Beekeeping Association, http://www.ncbeekeepers.org
OK Once again please point out corrections or areas that may need enhancing. Please Keep in mind that this is a study guide for a certified level test. 
B. Life Cycle
Where do Honey bees live? What material do they use to construct their nests? Why are their combs built the way they are?
What does a typical honey bee colony in North Carolina do in the Winter?
Spring? Summer? Autumn? How might this idealized life cycle change in a different place (e.g., Canada)?
What foods do bees collect? Where are the food stores kept in the colony? And the developing brood? Is there any pattern to their relative positions?
What do honey bees eat? How do they forage for these various food items?
What is the mating system of honey bees? How do the queens accomplish this? When does mating take place? Where?
When does a colony produce new queens? How are new colonies formed? What is the purpose of forming a new colony?
Where do honey bees live? Honey bees live in hives.
What material do they use to construct their nests? Wax. Worker bees that are about 12 days old are mature enough to begin producing beeswax. These white flakes of wax are secreted from wax glands from the underside of the workers abdomen. They help with the building of the new wax comb.
Why are their combs built the way they are? The hexagonal wax design provides light weight and great strength.
What does a typical honey bee colony in North Carolina do in the Winter?
When the outside temperature drops below 57 degrees F the bees congregate in the broodnest area. They crawl into some of the empty cells and fill the spaces between combs. Separated by thin wax walls this fairly compact mass of bees is called the winter cluster. The winter cluster is like a ball of bees. Little to no egg laying is performed.
Spring? As the weather warms and early plants become available for the bees to forage egg laying slowly comes into full swing.
Summer? By mid summer the foraging plants can diminish until early fall and colonies go on hold living on stored food.
Autumn? Fall blooming plants kick in and often there is another short but intense collection time. This is called the fall flow and may last for a month depending on how soon rainy weather and early frost set in.
How might this idealized life cycle change in a different place (e.g., Canada)? The same pattern would occur perhaps at different durations and different months depending on the temperature and plants in bloom.
What foods do bees collect? Bees collect nectar and pollen.
Where are the food stores kept in the colony? And the developing brood?
Is there any pattern to their relative positions?
In the brood box the queen lays eggs in a circular or football shaped pattern from the center of the frame moving outward. A band of pollen could encircle the brood and a band of honey would be outside of the pollen band. Additional honey would be stored in frames in the honey supers.
What do honey bees eat? How do they forage for these various food items? Adult honey bees eat honey. The brood is fed bee bread made up of pollen and honey.
The bees forage for these items by finding a supply of nectar or pollen and returning to the hive and performing the bee dance which identifies what direction and how far the supply is from the hive.
What is the mating system of honey bees? How do the queens accomplish this? When does mating take place? Where?
Drones come out of their cells after 24 days and eat and beg food from workers. They are mature in 12 days and can take mating flights around 2-4 in the afternoon. Their large eyes help them to spot queens that are out for mating flights. The virgin queen comes out of her cell after 16 days and is treated like any other bee. The queen takes orientation flights after one or two weeks. If the queen does not mate within 3 weeks she may loose the urge to mate. The queens and drones meet in places away from their respective colonies called drone congregation areas or DCA’s. Mating occurs well above ground from 30 to 300 feet in the air. After mating the drone’s sex organ and some internal anatomy is left in the queen, the drone dies.
When does a colony produce new queens? How are new colonies formed? What is the purpose of forming a new colony?A replacement queen is needed to replace an injured or failing queen or before swarming. New colonies are formed by bees swarming.
The purpose of forming a new colony is to overcome crowding of bees or because there is not enough room to raise brood. Therefore the old queen, nurse bees and a lot of workers may decide to leave and find a new home.
OK another section. If any other students would like to take a section please feel free to jump in and get it done. Let me know what section so we can work on different sections and get this thing done faster
II HONEY BEE MANAGEMENT
A. Hive equipment and bee keeping tools.
What are the components of the modern hive? What is purpose of each?
Bottom board – Is at the bottom of the hive and is built like a shallow three sided box. The open side is where the bees land on the porch and enter the hive. The bottom board may have a screen for ventilation. It is the floor of the hive.
An entrance reducer – is a piece of wood that can be flipped in different ways and put on the bottom board to reduce the opening of the entrance so the bees have an easier time defending the entrance from intruders.
Supers – the supers contain frames which may hold wax or starter strips to help guide the bees in building comb. The bottom super or supers would be where the queen would reside and lay eggs. Other supers may be used to store honey if we are lucky.
An inner cover – Sits on top of the top supper and would be considered the ceiling of the hive. It provides a buffer from the hive top and helps regulate air flow.
The telescoping outer cover – This would be the roof of the hive.
What is bee space? How big is it? Why is this an important measurement when constructing hive equipment?Langstroth redesigned the bee hive 150 years ago to have removable frames and spaced the frames and other parts at ⅜ of an inch apart. This became known as bee space. Spaces larger would be filled in with burr comb and smaller spaces would be filled with proplis.
How does one obtain bees? What are some of the common bee stocks?A person can obtain bees by catching a swarm, buying from a local bee keeper, ordering through the mail. There are many types a few of the common types are: Italians, Carniolan, Caucasian, and Buckfast.
What are the most common items used to manage bees? What is the primary function of each?Common tools are: the smoker – it provides smoke to cover or erase the bees alarm pheromone and thereby keeps the bees in the hive and not attacking you. The hive tool – is used to loosen hive parts, open the hive, manipulate frames. Bee suits gloves and veils – protective clothing to keep the bees from stinging and allow you to inspect / work the hive. Frame rest – hangs on the side of the hive and holds 3-4 frames, can be used instead of leaning them against the side of the hive.
Bee brush – used to brush bees off of the frames.
Bottle of sugar water – can be used to spray the bees when installing a new package or when inspecting.
How do honey extractors work? How does one go about harvesting honey? Honey extractors work by spinning the frames inside of a container. The honey leaves the frame by centrifugal force hits the side of the container and runs to the bottom of the container.
II HONEY BEE MANAGEMENT
A. Hive equipment and bee keeping tools.
What are the components of the modern hive? What is purpose of each?
Bottom board – Is at the bottom of the hive and is built like a shallow three sided box. The open side is where the bees land on the porch and enter the hive. The bottom board may have a screen for ventilation. It is the floor of the hive.
An entrance reducer – is a piece of wood that can be flipped in different ways and put on the bottom board to reduce the opening of the entrance so the bees have an easier time defending the entrance from intruders.
Supers – the supers contain frames which may hold wax or starter strips to help guide the bees in building comb. The bottom super or supers would be where the queen would reside and lay eggs. Other supers may be used to store honey if we are lucky.
An inner cover – Sits on top of the top supper and would be considered the ceiling of the hive. It provides a buffer from the hive top and helps regulate air flow.
The telescoping outer cover – This would be the roof of the hive.
What is bee space? How big is it? Why is this an important measurement when constructing hive equipment?Langstroth redesigned the bee hive 150 years ago to have removable frames and spaced the frames and other parts at ⅜ of an inch apart. This became known as bee space. Spaces larger would be filled in with burr comb and smaller spaces would be filled with proplis.
How does one obtain bees? What are some of the common bee stocks?A person can obtain bees by catching a swarm, buying from a local bee keeper, ordering through the mail. There are many types a few of the common types are: Italians, Carniolan, Caucasian, and Buckfast.
What are the most common items used to manage bees? What is the primary function of each?Common tools are: the smoker – it provides smoke to cover or erase the bees alarm pheromone and thereby keeps the bees in the hive and not attacking you. The hive tool – is used to loosen hive parts, open the hive, manipulate frames. Bee suits gloves and veils – protective clothing to keep the bees from stinging and allow you to inspect / work the hive. Frame rest – hangs on the side of the hive and holds 3-4 frames, can be used instead of leaning them against the side of the hive.
Bee brush – used to brush bees off of the frames.
Bottle of sugar water – can be used to spray the bees when installing a new package or when inspecting.
How do honey extractors work? How does one go about harvesting honey? Honey extractors work by spinning the frames inside of a container. The honey leaves the frame by centrifugal force hits the side of the container and runs to the bottom of the container.
Another section to mull over
Thought there would bee more help
from the other students. grrr I mean bzzzz. 
B. Basic hive manipulation
What is the proper technique to opening a hive of bees? What are some behaviors that should always be done? What are some behaviors that should be minimized? (in other words what do honey bees like and dislike when we work them?)
After lighting the smoker and suiting up and taking the hive tool in hand approach the hive from the side or back. Observe which way the bees are flying off in order to stay out of their flight path. Give a few long cool puffs of smoke into the entrance. Lift the telescoping cover and put a few puffs of smoke into the top of the hive. Remove the top cover and place it top side down on the ground. If there is a hive top feeder put a few puffs into the screened access to drive the top bees down into the hive. Remove the hive top feeder and set it on top of the telescoping cover is such a way as to not crush the bees that may be on the bottom of the feeder. Cover the feeder to stop robbing. Remove the inner cover if there is one and give the bees a few COOL puffs to drive them down into the hive. When prying up the hive top feeder use one hand to control the top of the feeder while prying with the hive tool in the other hand. This is intended to eliminate any sudden pops and loud cracks that may upset the bees. The hive is now open. Work in a calm deliberate manner but do not rush. Reacting suddenly to stings around the head entices more bees to sting. Avoid crushing bees when shifting or replacing frames, especially the queen. Crushed bees emit an odor which excites other bees to sting. Bees like light colored clothing, avoid black. Also keep a log book.
How should the frames be manipulated? Where should they be placed if removed from the hive?
Ah the hive is open and some COOL smoke has driven the bees down into the hive. Time to remove the first frame. The first frame to remove is an end frame or wall frame. Insert the curved end of the hive tool between the first and second frames, near one end of the frame top bar. Twist the tool to separate the frames from each other. Repeat on the other side. The first frame should now be free. Using both hands pick up the first frame by the end bars. Gently brush away any bees with your fingers that may be in the way as you get a hold on the endbars. With the frame in both hands gently and slowly lift it straight up and out of the hive. Be careful not to crush or roll any bees as you lift the frame out. Now the frame can gently be rested on the ground leaning vertically up against the hive or it can be set in a frame rest. There will still be bees on the frame. Now there is room to move the remaining frames in the hive using the same process. Separate the second frame and remove it for inspection then put it back into the hive near or against the wall and work your way through the hive.
Holding up frames for inspection stand with your back to the sun so it will easier to see details o the frame. To look at the other side of the frame continue holding it by the end bars and turn the frame vertically, then turn the frame like a page of a book now smoothly return it to the horizontal position and you will looking at the other side of the frame.
What is the proper technique to putting a colony back together?
After inspecting the last frame there should be an empty frame slot on the opposite end of where you started and there should be one frame on the ground leaning against the hive. Slowly push the nine frames that are in the hive as a single unit toward the opposite wall of the hive. That should put them back where they were before you started the inspection. Pushing them as a single unit keeps them snugly together and avoids crushing bees. You are now left with the open slot from which the first frame was removed. Smoke the bees one last time to drive them back down into the hive. If there are still bees on the last frame leaning against the hive or in the frame rest carefully bang it on the bottom board next to the front entrance, now it will be easier to put the last frame back in the hive. Make certain that all ten frames fit snugly together.
What are some things that can be done to minimize burr comb?
One thing that may minimize burr comb is to observe the ⅜ inch bee space.
Why would a colony need to be requeened ? What is the basic procedure of requening a colony? What schedule of events should or must take place? What are the difficulties that must be overcome? How might they be resolved? What are the pros and cons of both spring and fall requeening?
Why would a colony need to be requeened? A colony may need to be requeened if the queen is old and the egg laying is falling off - may notice checker boarding pattern of egg or capped cells. Might be good to replace the queen if the bees are mean or aggressive. Laying drones means the sperm has been depleated and the queen needs to be replaced. Chalkbrood may also be a reason to replace the queen.
What is the basic procedure of requeening a colony?
Remove one of the frames from the brood box – pick a frame that has little or no brood as it will die. Shake all the bees off the frame and put the frame aside as it will not be used for a week. With one frame removed create a space in the center of the brood box. Use this space to hang the queen cage between the frames. Make sure to remove the cork from the cage to expose the candy plug and make sure the candy end is facing up so if any nurse bees die in the cage they will not plug the entrance. The bees will eat the candy plug and free the queen. Caution you may want to put the cage in the hive for a day to see how the bees react to the new queen. If they are biting the cage trying to get at the queen to kill her you may want to hold the queen in t cage a few more days. At a minimum, when requeening, they need to be queenless for at least 2 hours. 12 to 24 is ok. More and they will have a queen cell of their own started.
What schedule of events should or must take place?
Once the old queen is dead or gone you should wait few days to let the old queens pheromones fade before putting a new queen inside.
What are the difficulties that must be overcome?
Caution you may want to put the cage in the hive for a day to see how the bees react to the new queen. If they are biting the cage trying to get at the queen to kill her you may want to hold the queen in t cage a few more days. Other problems that may cause problems are: hot hive, laying workers, Russian queen in an Italian hive, hive that has already rejected one queen.
Removing the workers from the queen cage before putting the queen
cage into the hive has been shown to reduce rejections by a significant percentage.
What are the pros and cons of both spring and fall requeening?
Although many beekeepers requeen in the spring, requeening is generally recommended for the fall, with enough time remaining in the season for the new queens worker bees to populate the colony. Fall requeening has several advantages over spring requeening. With fall requeening, the younger queen winters with the colony and is less likely to die during the winter than older queens. Fall queens generally cost less than spring queens. Fall requeening can disrupt the growth of tracheal mites populations, which can increase dramatically during this time. Spring requeening causes a break in the brood cycle just when the colony should be rapidly building up its worker bee population for honey production.
Spring queens are always in short supply and always cost more and sometimes aren't mated as well.
Seems like fall is the best time if you have a choice!
Thought there would bee more help
from the other students. grrr I mean bzzzz. B. Basic hive manipulation
What is the proper technique to opening a hive of bees? What are some behaviors that should always be done? What are some behaviors that should be minimized? (in other words what do honey bees like and dislike when we work them?)
After lighting the smoker and suiting up and taking the hive tool in hand approach the hive from the side or back. Observe which way the bees are flying off in order to stay out of their flight path. Give a few long cool puffs of smoke into the entrance. Lift the telescoping cover and put a few puffs of smoke into the top of the hive. Remove the top cover and place it top side down on the ground. If there is a hive top feeder put a few puffs into the screened access to drive the top bees down into the hive. Remove the hive top feeder and set it on top of the telescoping cover is such a way as to not crush the bees that may be on the bottom of the feeder. Cover the feeder to stop robbing. Remove the inner cover if there is one and give the bees a few COOL puffs to drive them down into the hive. When prying up the hive top feeder use one hand to control the top of the feeder while prying with the hive tool in the other hand. This is intended to eliminate any sudden pops and loud cracks that may upset the bees. The hive is now open. Work in a calm deliberate manner but do not rush. Reacting suddenly to stings around the head entices more bees to sting. Avoid crushing bees when shifting or replacing frames, especially the queen. Crushed bees emit an odor which excites other bees to sting. Bees like light colored clothing, avoid black. Also keep a log book.
How should the frames be manipulated? Where should they be placed if removed from the hive?
Ah the hive is open and some COOL smoke has driven the bees down into the hive. Time to remove the first frame. The first frame to remove is an end frame or wall frame. Insert the curved end of the hive tool between the first and second frames, near one end of the frame top bar. Twist the tool to separate the frames from each other. Repeat on the other side. The first frame should now be free. Using both hands pick up the first frame by the end bars. Gently brush away any bees with your fingers that may be in the way as you get a hold on the endbars. With the frame in both hands gently and slowly lift it straight up and out of the hive. Be careful not to crush or roll any bees as you lift the frame out. Now the frame can gently be rested on the ground leaning vertically up against the hive or it can be set in a frame rest. There will still be bees on the frame. Now there is room to move the remaining frames in the hive using the same process. Separate the second frame and remove it for inspection then put it back into the hive near or against the wall and work your way through the hive.
Holding up frames for inspection stand with your back to the sun so it will easier to see details o the frame. To look at the other side of the frame continue holding it by the end bars and turn the frame vertically, then turn the frame like a page of a book now smoothly return it to the horizontal position and you will looking at the other side of the frame.
What is the proper technique to putting a colony back together?
After inspecting the last frame there should be an empty frame slot on the opposite end of where you started and there should be one frame on the ground leaning against the hive. Slowly push the nine frames that are in the hive as a single unit toward the opposite wall of the hive. That should put them back where they were before you started the inspection. Pushing them as a single unit keeps them snugly together and avoids crushing bees. You are now left with the open slot from which the first frame was removed. Smoke the bees one last time to drive them back down into the hive. If there are still bees on the last frame leaning against the hive or in the frame rest carefully bang it on the bottom board next to the front entrance, now it will be easier to put the last frame back in the hive. Make certain that all ten frames fit snugly together.
What are some things that can be done to minimize burr comb?
One thing that may minimize burr comb is to observe the ⅜ inch bee space.
Why would a colony need to be requeened ? What is the basic procedure of requening a colony? What schedule of events should or must take place? What are the difficulties that must be overcome? How might they be resolved? What are the pros and cons of both spring and fall requeening?
Why would a colony need to be requeened? A colony may need to be requeened if the queen is old and the egg laying is falling off - may notice checker boarding pattern of egg or capped cells. Might be good to replace the queen if the bees are mean or aggressive. Laying drones means the sperm has been depleated and the queen needs to be replaced. Chalkbrood may also be a reason to replace the queen.
What is the basic procedure of requeening a colony?
Remove one of the frames from the brood box – pick a frame that has little or no brood as it will die. Shake all the bees off the frame and put the frame aside as it will not be used for a week. With one frame removed create a space in the center of the brood box. Use this space to hang the queen cage between the frames. Make sure to remove the cork from the cage to expose the candy plug and make sure the candy end is facing up so if any nurse bees die in the cage they will not plug the entrance. The bees will eat the candy plug and free the queen. Caution you may want to put the cage in the hive for a day to see how the bees react to the new queen. If they are biting the cage trying to get at the queen to kill her you may want to hold the queen in t cage a few more days. At a minimum, when requeening, they need to be queenless for at least 2 hours. 12 to 24 is ok. More and they will have a queen cell of their own started.
What schedule of events should or must take place?
Once the old queen is dead or gone you should wait few days to let the old queens pheromones fade before putting a new queen inside.
What are the difficulties that must be overcome?
Caution you may want to put the cage in the hive for a day to see how the bees react to the new queen. If they are biting the cage trying to get at the queen to kill her you may want to hold the queen in t cage a few more days. Other problems that may cause problems are: hot hive, laying workers, Russian queen in an Italian hive, hive that has already rejected one queen.
Removing the workers from the queen cage before putting the queen
cage into the hive has been shown to reduce rejections by a significant percentage.
What are the pros and cons of both spring and fall requeening?
Although many beekeepers requeen in the spring, requeening is generally recommended for the fall, with enough time remaining in the season for the new queens worker bees to populate the colony. Fall requeening has several advantages over spring requeening. With fall requeening, the younger queen winters with the colony and is less likely to die during the winter than older queens. Fall queens generally cost less than spring queens. Fall requeening can disrupt the growth of tracheal mites populations, which can increase dramatically during this time. Spring requeening causes a break in the brood cycle just when the colony should be rapidly building up its worker bee population for honey production.
Spring queens are always in short supply and always cost more and sometimes aren't mated as well.
Seems like fall is the best time if you have a choice!
Wally,
I printed up a bunch of these:
STATE BEE EXAM STUDY GUIDE
The answers to the study guide are being put on the Guilford county Bee Keepers Association Web site by other students and corrected and commented on by real beeks. GO TO: http://www.guilfordbeekeepers.org/ then click Forum Board, then "just stuff", and then Study Guide
I printed up a bunch of these:
STATE BEE EXAM STUDY GUIDE
The answers to the study guide are being put on the Guilford county Bee Keepers Association Web site by other students and corrected and commented on by real beeks. GO TO: http://www.guilfordbeekeepers.org/ then click Forum Board, then "just stuff", and then Study Guide
Here is another section for the real beeks or students to question correct or just enjoy and digest. Still need volenteers for the last few sections. Just post a reply on what sections you want to do.
C. Establishing a bee yard
What are some characteristics of a location that is favorable to keep bees? What is unfavorable?
How should the hive be facing in the yard? What is the benefit of orienting the hives in this way? What are some things that can be done within a yard to protect your hives from pests and predators, such as ants, bears, and other bees?
Face the hive to the southeast. That way your bees get an early morning wake-up call and start foraging early.
Positioning your hive so that it is easily accessible come honey harvest time. You don’t want to be hauling hundreds of pounds of honey up a hill on a hot August day.
Provide a windbreak at the rear of the hive. A few tress or bushes, or a fence made from posts and burlap to block the harsh winter winds that can stress a colony.
Put the hive in dappling sunlight. Ideally avoid full sun because the warmth of the sun requires the colony to work hard to regulate the hives temperature. Also avoid deep dark shade because it can make the hive damp and the colony listless.
Make sure the hive has good ventilation. Avoid placing it in a gully where the air is still and damp. Also avoid putting it at a peak of a hill where bees are subject to winter’s fury.
Place the hive level from side to side and with the front of the hive slightly lower then the rear ( a difference of an inch or less is fine) so that any rain water drains out of the hive and not into it the hive.
Locate your hive on firm drive land.
Mulch around the bee hives prevents grass and weeds from blocking its entrances.
If bears or skunks are known to be problem a fence can be put up around a bee yard.
Do NOT throw burr comb or spill syrup around the hive as this may bring in other bees and robbing may occur.
If there is an ant problem the legs of the hive may be put in containers of an oily solution. Also avoid spilling sugar around the hive that may attract the ants.
D. Disease
1. Go online to http://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/apiculture/
2. This will bring you to the Apiculture program Dept. of Entomology
at NCSU. On this page select EXTENSION
4. Go to the NOTES page and select #201 which is a 12 page document "Disease Management Guidelines North Carolina, 2007. This one will be covered during class on March 1.
C. Establishing a bee yard
What are some characteristics of a location that is favorable to keep bees? What is unfavorable?
How should the hive be facing in the yard? What is the benefit of orienting the hives in this way? What are some things that can be done within a yard to protect your hives from pests and predators, such as ants, bears, and other bees?
Face the hive to the southeast. That way your bees get an early morning wake-up call and start foraging early.
Positioning your hive so that it is easily accessible come honey harvest time. You don’t want to be hauling hundreds of pounds of honey up a hill on a hot August day.
Provide a windbreak at the rear of the hive. A few tress or bushes, or a fence made from posts and burlap to block the harsh winter winds that can stress a colony.
Put the hive in dappling sunlight. Ideally avoid full sun because the warmth of the sun requires the colony to work hard to regulate the hives temperature. Also avoid deep dark shade because it can make the hive damp and the colony listless.
Make sure the hive has good ventilation. Avoid placing it in a gully where the air is still and damp. Also avoid putting it at a peak of a hill where bees are subject to winter’s fury.
Place the hive level from side to side and with the front of the hive slightly lower then the rear ( a difference of an inch or less is fine) so that any rain water drains out of the hive and not into it the hive.
Locate your hive on firm drive land.
Mulch around the bee hives prevents grass and weeds from blocking its entrances.
If bears or skunks are known to be problem a fence can be put up around a bee yard.
Do NOT throw burr comb or spill syrup around the hive as this may bring in other bees and robbing may occur.
If there is an ant problem the legs of the hive may be put in containers of an oily solution. Also avoid spilling sugar around the hive that may attract the ants.
D. Disease
1. Go online to http://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/apiculture/
2. This will bring you to the Apiculture program Dept. of Entomology
at NCSU. On this page select EXTENSION
4. Go to the NOTES page and select #201 which is a 12 page document "Disease Management Guidelines North Carolina, 2007. This one will be covered during class on March 1.