DOCSLIB.ORG

Mass Storage of Honey Bee Queens During the Winter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Mass Storage of Honey Bee Queens During the Winter BibiiothCque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Welfington Street Ottawa. Ontario KIA ON4 NOTICE The quality of this microform is La qualite de cette microforme heavily dependent upon the depend grandement de la qualite quality of the original thesis de la these soumise au submitted for microfilming. microfilmage. Nous avons tout Every effort has been made to fait pour assurer une qualite ensure the highest quality of superieure de reproduction. reproduction possible. If pages are missing, contact the S'il manque des pages, veuillez university which granted the communiquer avec I'universite degree. qui a confere le grade. Some pages may have indistinct La qualite d'impression de print especially if the original certaines pages peut laisser a pages were typed with a poor desirer, surtout si les pages typewriter ribbon or if the originales ont 6te university sent us an inferior dactylographiees a I'aide d'un photocopy. ruban use ou si I'universite nous a fait parvenir une photocopie de qualite inferieure. Reproduction in full or in part of La reproduction, m6me partielle, this microform is governed by de cette microforme est soumise the Canadian Copyright Act, a la Loi canadienne sur le droit R.S.C. 3970, c. C-30, and dsauteur, SRC 1970, c. C-30, et subsequent amendments. ses amendements subsequents. 5IASS STORAGE OF HOsEY BEE QUEENS DURLh-G THE WINTER hIargriet H. Wyborn B. Sc., Simon Fraser Cniversity, 19'7'7 THESIS SITBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in the Department of Biological Sciences @ hlargriet. H. LVybor11 1991 SIMON FRASER VNIVERSITY July. 1991 All right reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part., by photocopy or other means, without. permission of t,he author. National Library 6ibliotheque nationale 1*1 oiCwada du Canada Acquisitions and Direchon des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Weibngton Street 395. rue Wellinglon Ottawa, Ontarlo Onawa {Ontarlo) KIA ON4 KIA ON4 The author has granted an L'auteur a accorde une licence irrevocable non-exclusive licence irrevocable et non exclusive allowing the National Library of permettant a la Bibliotheque Canada to reproduce, loan, nationale du Canada de distribute or sell copies of reproduire, prgter, distribuer ou his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa these in any form or format, making de quelque maniere et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette these a la disposition des personnes interessees. The author retains ownership of L'auteur conserve la propriete du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qui protege sa Neither the thesis nor substantial these. Ni la these ni des extraits extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent 6tre imprimes ou his/her permission. autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. ISBN 8-365-78167-X APPROVAL Name: Margriet Hilda Wyborn Degree: Master of Science Title of Thesis: MASS STORAGE OF HONEY BEE QUEENS DURING THE WINTER Examining Committee: Chairman: Dr. B.D. Roitberg, Associate Professor Dr. M.L. Winston, Professor, Senior Supemsor, Department of Biological Sciences, SFU Dr. R.A. Nicholson, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, SFU - Ur. ~.me*ie,Kesearch Scientist, Yubh c kxammer' Agriculture Canada, Agassiz Research Station Date Approved -. PARTIAL COPYRIGHT b ICENSE ..'. *.. ...- !# . .. I hereby grant to Simon. Fraser Unlverslty the rlght $0 lend my thasis, proJect or extended essay'(the ?itle of which Is shown below: to users of the Slmh Frsser Unlverslty ~lbr.;r~, and to make part let or s lngls coples only for such usors or in response to a request from the library of any othor unlverslty, or other educational Instltutfon, on its own behalf or for one of Its users. I further agree that permission for multlple copylng of thls work for scholarly purposes may be grantod by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It 1s understood that,copylng or publlcatlon of thls work for flnanclal galn.shal1 not bo allowod without my wrltten permlsslon. T l t l e of Thes 1 s/ProJect/Extended Essay PlASS STORAGE OF HONEY BEE QUEEDs DURING THE ~WI'ER Author : (s lgnatureo (date) -4BSTRXC'T >;torage of Apts rilelltfira L. queens over the winter. xithin indi~:idtml colony Imrlkrj in screened wr;otlen cages. is biologically and eco~lornicallyfeasable. Appronirrlat,ely 500 queens were in?roduced into v;trious storage systems for three years of winter tests. Individually wintered queens in nucIeus colonies were t,he control and these were cornpared to colony "banks" wit..h queens held in ( 1) screened wode~icages (2)esclrrder cages (/3 screened cages and transferred to mini-nuclei i~ritillate ILIarch, (4j exclwler cages constructed in the form of a cube and held in colony Ixmks. and (.5) excluder cages held over indoor colonies. Queens held in excli~tfr~rcages (2) and stared in queenright or queenless colony banks showed poor survival in all three years of test-ing, and is not viable for conlmercial use; survival for any one year, or any treatment, was never greater than 2.5%. E:ct.remely high initial nlort,alit.yof greater than 80 percent., in the indoor (.5) ar,d redesigned systems (4). I)ot,li with excluder cages, precluded further esaminat.ion. 111 cont.rast, an average of SO% of queens survived t.hat were stored in screened cvooclen cages ( 1) and held insicle queenless colony banks. We found no differences in strrvival of cpeens that were moved between colonies and t.hose t.hat remained in the same co1011y for six n1011ths. The success of these syst,enls was due to the preparat.ion of colorly banks that contained large nunlbers of adult. workers produced from two- cpezning the colony, t.hat were ix-ell-fed, and insulated in groups of four, to preserve heat and reduce \\-orker clustering in t.he winter. Queens froni tli&rent. xinter storage syst.exns were introduced t.o colonies, and cpiern attributes were esarnined in order to compare the offecbs of different st.orage reginws 011 queen f~mctiunand behavior. Those queens that survived t.he winter were virt rialty identical in cpali€j-and performance in all storage systems. Mass queen srorage is rcononlica1~-viahlt. for the lwr.keqm-, Ilt.c.,~l~st-t !w rt,t;il cost of production and srorage is less than :he revenue fro111qirrtm sa1c.s. t~.pcc-i,tlly irhere -IS queens are stored in the colony bank. The 1ar:est prcipc-rsticw rlt' tc,till cmis for wintering queens is labour. Thus. if the beekeeper dws tlie l;ilwi~rl~irl~st>lf, r licl iabour income as well as the returns from queen sales conw tuck to t 11t. Iwt-l<t~c.l)er. liecalculated that annual profit for a commercial beekeeper wtlc-, ililes his o\vn labour for sorage and hires workers for queen production is SlG.ti25 wht~lISI)~ queens are successfdly stored over the winter, and sold for $it) each in the spri~~g.If all labour costs are paid ot~kto a hired worker, profit woulcl be $13.21 5. I t 1l;iri i: 1I;irli Rr11ncr. .John Pass. llark Ciardner. md Gerhard Gries ~ho$a7.-e iIlt. thr. ericol~r;t~cc~~ient;i~lr.i Suppcsrt to thke that step towards my thesis. I appreciate I l~t-;tisist;tnc-c of C'll;irIt!\r 11-arren dnd Errm~ert Harp who provided ideas on Ircwkc.epi~~gand tvin~ybee v:intcring. Andrev; Kurn and Dan 3:IilIer for their feedback ;m(l sl~pportt hrn~~gfiourthe research. and John Gates and Ken Collins for their r-c,listrtlc-tivecriticism of [he eccjnornlc ana!yses. St ltrlents and staff in the \f:inston-Bordeu laboratory assisted with many aspects ctf my research. and the research ~.oi~ld110t have been possible without their fjc-111. \Vit Iir,ut exception, r heir energy and ent husiasnl made this project possible. 'The arr1r:ous t~sksof riieas~lrinacolonies adother duties were completed by a most. capable and efficient crew corisisting of Simon Colley, Rob Currie, Linda Ferguson, Heat hcr Higo, Daya Howpage. St even Iiolmes, Iien Naumann, Debra Swain and Les 1Villis. The finicky job of transferring queens i11t.o cages was completed by Les bVillis and Iit.11 N;~umann. Phil Laflarmne and Charley FVarren provided queens for the project.. Phil Laflamme also injected new ideas int,o the project. and together with his t>wkerping skills, was an invaIuabIe addition to the project.. Thanks also t.o (.'alneron Eckert for his help K-it11 extracting and measuring honey comb; Debbie Swain who always cheered us up: Simon C'olley, Daya Howpage, Linda Ferguson, ~IIC~Steven IioImes who helped at. \-arious phases of the project.. John Borden's st ticten t s and Leslie C'hnng adtlrd energy aand at.mosphere t,o t.he laborat,ory, and mack it. a great place to work. I thank Florence Ryder and t.he staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries at. Xbbotsford provided space for the honey bee colonies. and hospitality. iVarm t.hanks are also estended to Rob Currie for his expert advise on statistics. arid the stinlulating conversations on research projects. .. A /,st met 111 .- lr-hriowIcttgerr~e~~ts 'l'ahk of ( 'ont en t s i-i i List of' rl'al)lf*s 1:i List of Figures :i I. EXTRODT-C'TTOS 1 2. C'OLOIW STORAGE SYSTEMS FOR HONEY BEE QUEESS 3 2.1 Hetrie\v of C'olony storage systems for honey bee queens 3 2.2 Overview of Research 17 2.3 hlaterials and Xlethods 2 1 2.3.1 Oltt~borstorage systems 23 I.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Colony Growth and Seasonal Management of Honey Bees
    Colony Growth and Seasonal Management of Honey Bees Management of honey bees varies based on whether Although honey is essential food for bees, colonies pollination or honey production is the primary objective. cannot grow without sufficient amounts of incoming A simple scheme for those interested in maximizing honey pollen. Pollen contains the essential amino acids, sterols, production can be a template for any beginning beekeeper. minerals, and vitamins that bee larvae need to grow into Managing honey bees involves seasonal manipulations adult honey bees. Bee colonies cannot grow without brood of hive space to provide room when necessary for the production, and brood production hinges on good-quality expanding brood-rearing area and for storage of surplus nutrition that comes from pollen. Hence, bee colonies grow honey. Good management includes reducing colony space largest during or just after periods of maximum numbers during periods of dearth of incoming food, preventing of blooming plants in the spring and autumn (Figure 1). swarming of bees, feeding food supplements to offset any These periods are called honey flows. shortcomings in winter stores or to help stimulate brood Blooming of food plants can be predicted by a crude production during critical periods of colony development, geographic rule of adding a 1-week delay in bloom for keeping young and good-quality queens in colonies, and every 200 miles or so northward in latitude. For example, if managing diseases and parasites. sumac is blooming heavily in southern Mississippi during the first week of May, a person living near the Mississippi- Basic Growth Cycle Tennessee border might expect sumac to bloom from the Good seasonal management begins with understand- third week of May into the beginning of June.
    [Show full text]
  • Bee Calendar
    The Kentucky Bbekeeper's Calendar prepared by Thomas C. Webster Ap iculture Extens ion Sp e c ialist he honey bee hive is as closely tuned to spring will accelerate bee colony development by the seasons and the weather as any living several weeks or even a month. If the winter drags plant or animal. An early spring, adry summer, on into a cold, rainy spring the bees will lag behind or a long winter greatly affects the life of the in their development and activities. It's interesting bee hive. For these reasons, the good beekeeper that the times of year that the plants bloom are is always scrutinizing ttie calendar, speculating not affected as much by weather. They may vary about rainfall, awaiting the arrival of warm by a week but not much more. weather, orpreparingforwinter. This is a guide Southern and far western Kentucky generally for beginning beekeepers who are learning to get spring weather a week or two earlier than think about the seasonal cvcle. central Kentucky. The eastern mountains and the The times given for beekeeping activities northern part of Kentucky are later in getting will vary, according to weather and location. spring weather. Similarly, fall comes late to the This calendar is for a year with average weather southern and western parts of the state, and early in cenfal Kentucky. A mild winter and early to the east and north., E January and February What's Happening Inside The Hive? Beekeeper Chores The bees keep their winter cluster intact, This is the time for constructing, painting, except on the occasional sunny days in the 50's and repairing equipment.
    [Show full text]
  • Module 1 Honeybee Management Introduction
    Module 1 Honeybee Management Introduction This document is an updated reference used as part of Mid Bucks Beekeepers Association study group preparation for the BBKA Module 1 examination. When studying please do not use this document as the only reference source as the intention is that the contents be used as an aide memoir. As we all know if you ask 6 Beekeepers the same question you will get 6 differing answers all of which will be right so do not blindly trust what written here. The information included in the document has been drawn from a multitude of sources. The sources include: Guide to Bees and Honey Ted Hooper The Honeybee Around and About Celia F Davies BBKA News Beecraft MidBucks Beekeepers Association Study Group Internet britishbee.org.uk dave-cushman.net thorne.co.uk en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping google The contents of the document follow the syllabus of Module 1 as defined by BBKA. 13/1/2013 Page 1 Module 1 Honeybee Management Contents The Candidate shall be able to give a detailed account of:- Contents .............................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 the types of hives and frames used by beekeepers in the United Kingdom,including comparative knowledge of the following hives, National, WBC, Smith, National Deep, Commercial, Langstroth and Dadant. (exact frame sizes are NOT required); ..................... 4 1.2 the principles which govern the design of hives and frames, including the concept of bee space, and the main features of their construction; ...................................................... 8 1.3 the use of wax foundation; ........................................................................................... 10 1.4 Methods of fitting frames with wired and unwired wax foundation; .............................
    [Show full text]
  • January March April February the Beekeeping Year
    The beekeeping year What will the Beehaus look like inside? This is the month by month guide to what your bees are doing, what you should be doing, and what the Beehaus should look like. The exact timing of some of the bees behaviours and the actions you take, vary according to size of colony, weather and the temperament of your bees. It starts in January and assumes that the colony has over-wintered in the hive. If you are starting with a nucleus, just go to the month that you received your bees. January What are the bees doing? The bees are still in their winter cluster. Sometime in January, the bees will raise the temperature of the cluster from the winter norm Open Closed of 15-17oC up to 33-35oC in order to stimulate the queen bee to start laying. On a clear day you should see some bees flying. These Bees clustering on 9 frames. are “cleansing” flights (bees don’t like to relieve themselves in There is also a block of fondant in case the bees need it. their own home). They may also be collecting water to dilute the stored honey. What should you be doing? March You can remove the wasp guard and clear any dead bees from the entrance using the curved end of the hive tool. You shouldn’t open the Beehaus, What are the bees doing? Unless it’s still very cold, there should be regular activity now with this will chill the bees. If there is snow on the ground, this can confuse the foragers eagerly collecting pollen and any early nectar.
    [Show full text]
  • Honey Bee Facts
    Pollination Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of fruits and vegetables Pollen Bees collect 66 lbs of pollen per year, per hive. Pollen is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. The Honeybee uses pollen as a food. Pollen is one of the richest and purest natural foods, consisting of up to 35% protein, 10% sugars, carbohydrates, enzymes, minerals, and vitamins A (carotenes), B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinic acid), B5 (panothenic acid), C (ascorbic acid), H (biotin), and R(rutine). OTHER BITS OF INFORMATION honey bee Brecknock Orchard Honey Honeybees are not native to the USA. They are European in facts Honey is used by the bees for food all year round. There are origin, and were brought to North America by the early settlers. many types, colors and flavors of honey, depending upon its nectar source. The bees make honey from the nectar Honeybees are not aggressive by nature, and will not sting they collect from flowering trees and plants. Honey is an unless protecting their hive from an intruder or are unduly easily digestible, pure food. Honey is hydroscopic and has provoked. antibacterial qualities. Eating local honey can fend off allergies. Honeybees represent a highly organized society, with various Beeswax bees having very specific roles during their lifetime: e.g., nurses, Secreted from glands, beeswax is used by the honeybee to guards, grocers, housekeepers, construction workers, royal build honey comb.
    [Show full text]
  • Beehive from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Beehive From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young. Though the word beehive is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive. Nest is used to discuss colonies which house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. Hive is used to describe structures used by humans to house a honey bee nest. Several species of Apis live in colonies, but only the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) are kept in hives by humans. A bees Painted wooden beehives with active nest is comparable to a bird's nest built with a purpose to protect the honey bees dweller. The beehive's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). Beehives serve several purposes: production of honey, pollination of nearby crops, housing supply bees for apitherapy treatment, and to try to mitigate the effects of colony collapse disorder. In America, hives are commonly transported so that bees can pollinate crops in other areas.[1] A number of patents have been issued for beehive designs. Contents 1 Honey bee nests 2 Ancient hives 3 Traditional hives 3.1 Mud and clay hives 3.2 Skeps 3.3 Bee gums 4 Modern hives 4.1 Hives optimized for Apis mellifera, Apis cerana 4.1.1 Langstroth hives 4.1.2 Commercial hives 4.1.3 WBC hives 4.1.4 CDB hives 4.1.5 Dartington Long Deep hives 4.1.6 Beehaus 4.1.7 Long Box Hive 4.1.8 Top-bar hives 4.1.9 Warré hives 4.1.10 Perone hives 4.1.11 Flow Hive 4.2 Hives optimized for meliponines 4.3 Hives optimized for bumblebees 5 Symbolism 6 Relocation 7 Destruction 7.1 By other natural organisms 7.2 By humans 7.3 Method of destruction 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Honey bee nests Honey bees use caves, rock cavities and hollow trees as natural nesting sites.
    [Show full text]
  • Kentucky Beekeeping : a Guide for Beginners
    Kentucky Beekeeping : A Guide for Beginners Thomas C. Webster College of Agriculture, Food Science and Sustainable Systems Kentucky State University CONTENTS Introduction 1 Part 1: Understanding the Bees 1 A year in the life of a honey bee colony 3 The life of a queen bee 4 The life of a worker bee 8 The life of a drone bee 10 Communication in the Hive 10 The waggle dance 11 The sense of smell 12 Pheromones 12 Trophallaxis 14 Varieties and Breeds of Honey bees 14 The African bees 16 Breeds of bees 17 What is the best type of bee for a beginner? 18 Part 2: The Hive 18 Hive parts 19 Considerations about hive materials 20 Special Equipment 22 Queen excluders 22 Screened bottom boards 22 Pollen traps 23 Part 3: Establ ishing and Examining the Hives 23 Choosing a location for the bee hives 23 Basic equipment 25 Getting Your Bees 25 Acquiring an established hive 26 Making a split from an existing hive 27 Buying a package of bees 27 Catching and installing a swarm of bees 29 How many hives? 32 Getting Ready to Work the Bees 32 How the bees sense the world around them 32 Other factors which influence bee behavior 34 Stings 34 Examining the Hive 35 Opening the hive 36 What to observe 37 Closing the hive 38 How thoroughly should a hive be examined? 38 Part 4: Hive Management 41 Feeding Bees 41 Feeding sugar syrup 41 Feeding pollen supplements or substitutes 44 Water for Bees 44 Mites, Diseases, Pests and Predators 45 Colony collapse disorder (CCD) 45 Varroa mites 46 Tracheal mites 47 American foulbrood (AFB) 48 Chalkbrood 49 Nosema 49 Viruses 50
    [Show full text]
  • Popular Hives in the UK
    Popular Hives in the UK By Mike Alsop www.fdbka.co.uk Nov/Dec 2009 Contents • Intro • Hive Parts • Hive summary • National - 1920's • Deep National – 1946 revised 1960 • Top Bar Hive – (circa 2650 BC) • Dartington - 1975 • WBC – 1890 • Smith – post 1920 • Commercial – 1960's • Modified Dadant (MD) - 1917 • Langstroth – 1850 • Langstroth Jumbo - 1905 • Warré hive - (? - 1951) • Rose Hive – post 2000 • Which hive is the right one for me? Intro Modern Beehives Hives are a convenient way of containing a colony of bees while protecting them from the elements and predators, they enable the colony to build up and maximise honey production without in any way being detrimental to the bees. Hives are made to precise measurements so all the parts within the outer shell fit properly and give a suitable space for the bees to suit the local weather conditions and climate. I have listed a lot of info here about the most common types of hives, but from a bee's perspective it really doesn't matter. Which then leaves the bee keeper with a few choices of which hive would suit them best. All the hives listed apart from the Warré and Top Bar use frames and foundation. They are managed roughly the same over the course of a season so it really doesn't matter which hive type a new bee keeper starts with but I would recommend they use the same as other bee keepers within their association and if possible start with two colonies in case one colony has a problem. To some bee keepers its not the amount of honey or the size of the colony that matters, they believe there are many problems with the conventional methods and its better to allow the bees to act as if they were in the wild creating their own brood nest instead of being given a sheet of embossed wax held in a frame.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bee Book
    TABLE OF CONTENTS THE HONEY BEE .................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Scientific Classification ........................................................................................................... 1 Anatomy ................................................................................................................................. 2 The Colony ............................................................................................................................. 4 Seasons ................................................................................................................................. 8 Communications ..................................................................................................................... 8 Production .............................................................................................................................. 9 Quick Review – Chapter 1 .....................................................................................................10 SELECTING HONEY BEES ....................................................................................11 Honey Bee Species ...............................................................................................................11 Popular Subspecies for Beekeepers ......................................................................................11
    [Show full text]
  • University 0}"' Minnesota Habits and Activities of Bees'
    Special Bulletin No. 73 UNIVERSITY 0}"' MINNESOTA AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION DIVISION HABITS AND ACTIVITIES OF BEES' By Francis Jager, Divi ion f B e ulture Agricultural • xperiment Station BEE COLONY Bees are social insects. From 10 to 8o thousand of them constitute a colony . A colony is composed of one queen b -e, thousand s o[ worker bees, and during the breeding season in pring, fr 111 on to 5 thou and dron s. Fig. 1. Hive and Bees The Home of the Colony Bee colonies make their abode in dark cavities, hollow trees, and tree branches, and man-made hives. Their dwelling is filled with wax comb produced and built by th mselves. The comb is th sphere of their home activities. It consists of thousands of six-cornered (hexagonal) wax cells adjoining each other and built in both directions from a cen­ tral, vertical mid-rib. The combs are attached firmly to the ceiling and walls, but unattached at the bottom. Ea h omb is separated f rom the adjoining comb by a bee space of about thr e-eighths of an inch. The 1 Some of the cut s for this bu ll et in were furnish d by J)adaut and Sons. H amilton. Ill . Published by the University of Minnesota, College of Agriculture, Extension Division, F. W . Peck, Director, and distributed in furtherance of the purposes of the co-operative agri­ cultural extension work provided for in the Act of Congress of May 8, 191~ . 2 PE JAL BULLETIN 0. 73 b e space are ·dl ys of travel and communication and extend into the mo t remote corner .
    [Show full text]
  • Bee Calendar.P65
    The Kentucky Beekeeper’s CALENDAR KENTUCKY STATE UNIVESITY - COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PROGRAM The Kentucky Beekeeper’s Calendar prepared by Thomas C. Webster Apiculture Extension Specialist he honey bee hive is as closely tuned to spring will accelerate bee colony development by Tthe seasons and the weather as any living several weeks or even a month. If the winter drags plant or animal. An early spring, a dry summer, on into a cold, rainy spring the bees will lag behind or a long winter greatly affects the life of the in their development and activities. It’s interesting bee hive. For these reasons, the good beekeeper that the times of year that the plants bloom are is always scrutinizing the calendar, speculating not affected as much by weather. They may vary about rainfall, awaiting the arrival of warm by a week but not much more. weather, or preparing for winter. This is a guide Southern and far western Kentucky generally for beginning beekeepers who are learning to get spring weather a week or two earlier than think about the seasonal cycle. central Kentucky. The eastern mountains and the The times given for beekeeping activities northern part of Kentucky are later in getting will vary, according to weather and location. spring weather. Similarly, fall comes late to the This calendar is for a year with average weather southern and western parts of the state, and early in central Kentucky. A mild winter and early to the east and north. ❏ January and February What’s Happening Inside The Hive? Beekeeper Chores The bees keep their winter cluster intact, This is the time for constructing, painting, except on the occasional sunny days in the 50’s and repairing equipment.
    [Show full text]
  • Beekeeping Basicsbasics MAAREC: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the USDA Cooperating
    BeekeepingBeekeeping BasicsBasics MAAREC: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the USDA cooperating College of Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Beekeeping Basics .................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Contents Introduction ......................................................................2 Diseases of Adult Bees ................................................. 46 The Colony and Its Organization .................................3 Parasitic Mites .............................................................. 48 Queen ............................................................................... 3 Pests................................................................................ 54 Drones .............................................................................. 4 Protecting Honey Bees from Pesticides .................... 61 Workers ............................................................................ 5 Honey Production and Processing ........................... 62 Laying Workers .............................................................. 5 Forms of Honey ............................................................ 62 Bee Development .......................................................... 5 Honey Removal and Processing ................................ 66 Brood ................................................................................ 6 Marketing
    [Show full text]