Introduction to Bees SOBA March 19, 2016 Today’s Topics • Brief introduction to bees • A little history about bees and beekeeping • How the honey bees’ calendar differs from your calendar • What you can expect your first year Hundreds of Bees Bumble Bee Carpenter Bee Miner Bee Mason Bee Honey Bee Leaf Cutter Bee Apis mellifera European/western honey bee Rusty Honey Bee Suite • Apis is Latin for bee • Mellifera is Greek for = honey bearing What makes a bee a bee? Ability to carry pollen When split ends are a good thing 700X Electrical Charge What makes a bee a bee? Order: Hymenoptera = membrane wings 2 pairs of wings instead of 2 single wings How it all started… • A little history about bees and beekeeping Cretaceous Corsage Orchid Pollen Packets Bee in Fossilized Amber Spanish Cave Drawings Approximately 8000 years ago Honey Bees in Ancient Egypt 3000 – 4000 years ago Beekeeping: Then and Now 3000 – 4000 years old Modern Day Egypt What goes around comes around 3000 Year Old Bee Hive Before Langstroth: SKEP BEEKEEPING Using smoke to drive bees from a skep to rob their honey Bees into the Americas German or black Honey bees were introduced into the Americas in 1622 But..Were bees here before the 1600’s? But Apis nearctica is proof that North America was a native range of the honey bee. Races of bees introduced into the United States Carniolans (late 1800s) Caucasian bees (~1822) Carniolan Cordovan Italian Italian bees (1860) African bees were introduced to Brazil in 1956 and subsequently spread rapidly Africanized Honey bee Non-Africanized Honey bee Prepared to work the bees in South America The modern bee hive resulted from the combination of Langstroth’s discovery of bee space with Dzieron’s design of the first successful moveable-frame hive 1810 - 1895 1811 - 1906 What is bee space? What happens when bee space is violated? Narrower than bee space Greater than bee space Discovery of the secrets of bees The 1st hive Original with Langstroth removable hive frames Original edition Hive and Honey Bee The Langstroth Hive today Modern Langstroth Bee Hive Outer Cover Section Super (honey comb) Inner Cover Queen Honey Excluder Supers Brood Box Frame Landing Board Entrance What is beekeeping? Beekeeping is population management of a social insect, the honey bee, Apis mellifera Beekeepers seek to maximize adult population to coincide with a nectar flow to produce honey or pollinate flowers of a crop Beekeeping is managing a colony of honey bees Honey bees’ primary value to man Your super market WITH BEES WITHOUT BEES Pollination: Primary Value Without pollination some fruits and vegetables don’t grow up DAY 1 Pollination vs non pollination Non-pollinated Pollinated Day 7 Pollinated Non-pollinated Day 11 Pollinated Non-pollinated Percentage of Decline of Crop Yield without Honeybees’ Pollination % Dependence on % Dependence Crop Crop Honeybees on Honeybees 20 100 Lemon & Lime Almond Apple 90 Lettuce 10 Apricot 70 Lupine 10 Asparagus 90 Macadamia 90 Avocado 100 Mandarin 30 Bean 10 Mango 90 Blueberry 100 Nectarine 60 Broccoli 100 Onion 100 Brussels 30 Orange 30 sprout Cabbage 30 Papaya 20 Carrot 100 Peach 60 Cauliflower 100 Peanut 10 Celery 100 Pear 50 Cherries 90 Plum and prune 70 Cotton lint 20 Pumpkin 90 Cucumber 90 Strawberry 40 Grapefruit 80 Watermelon 70 Kiwi 90 Benefits of pollination Pollination= Flower Constancy Aster Aster The who’s who of the colony. Honey Bee Castes Workers Drone Queen The Queen’s Only Role • Lay Eggs • Lay Eggs • Lay More Eggs • Lay Even More Eggs Depositing an egg in cell I laid 1,500 eggs today, and you expect me to dress for dinner? Drone aka Male Bee • Mates with Queen • Expects to be Waited On • Mostly Does Nothing Worker Bees: 60,000 Strong From Darkness to Light to Flight •Raise Babies •Care for Queen •Maintain Hive •Build Comb •Protect Hive as Guard Bee •Collect Nectar •Collect Pollen •Work Until Their Wings wear Out The calendar: we are not on the same page… How the honey bees’ calendar differs from our calendar Our Calendar looks like this…. 2016 The bees’ calendar looks like this While we are celebrating the holidays and settling in for the winter, the bees are thinking about spring January/February/March • New Year starts with population building • When we see pussy willows we know spring has started for the bees Pollen and nectar initially available Late winter: beekeeper should monitor stores and feed if necessary You don’t want to see this April & May: While we are enjoying a beautiful spring day April - May • Bees are continuing to build their population • Propagating Don’t leave the bees searching for a meal… Don’t leave them looking for a new home Ian Beyer While we are laying on a hammock in summer, the bees are starting to prepare for winter. June When the blackberries blossom the bees’ population is at maximum June: Colony at its peak strength JuneJune 1st1st Bees start hoarding resources for winter 60 - 100 lbs honey for bees Surplus for beekeeper June: The queen lays fewer eggs in preparation for winter August: the workers start reducing population by kicking out the drones August: mite to bee ratio https://beeinformed.org http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/varroa August: The bees are raising longer lived winter bees Skinny Bee: no fat bodies Fat Bee: lots of fat bodies Fountain of Youth Vitellogenin is Vital • Vitellogenin makes “fat” bees • Protein with multiple purposes • Prolongs queen and worker life spans • Varroa infestation = no “fat” winter bees! While we are raking leaves in fall and attending conferences, the bees continue preparing for winter Fall: LookingFountain for easy of mealYouth by robbing Vitellogenin is Vital • Vitellogenin makes “fat” bees • Protein with multiple purposes • Prolongs queen and worker life spans • Varroa infestation = no “fat” winter bees! What happened to my sweet bees? Winter starts for the bees when the temperature is consistently below 50 degrees; the bees go into cluster What you can expect your first year What to expect the first year • The bees to fill first two brood boxes • Bees produce about 60 pounds of honey; they need approximately 60 to 100 pounds – not necessarily any left for you • Prepare to treat for Varroa mites in the fall • Prepare to feed the bees any times during the year if their stores run low especially during late winter/early spring Bees will fill 2 brood boxes Bees will need 60+ pounds for winter You need to prepare your Varroa mite strategy You will need to feed if needed Be prepared to enjoy the journey Success The End Photo: Suzanne Jurgens Questions? .