Bee Terms

 

When you are unfamiliar with the world of bee keeping some of the common terms may seem a little daunting.   This list is designed to explain some of the more common terms.

 

Abscond

Bees suddenly abandon the hive – generally a new one

Apiary

A set of bee hives

Apiculture

The farming of bee’s and their products

Brood

The area where the next generation is being raised.

Capping

Just before the larvae pupates the workers seal the cell with a cap

Caste

The different categories of bees – queen, worker, drone

Colony

The bees which live in the bee hive

Comb

The collection of cells where the larvae are raised and pollen and honey are stored

Diastase

Amylase a sucrose enzyme

Drifting

Where bees fail to enter the right hive within an apiary

Drone

The male bee – from an unfertilized egg

Frame

The support which the comb is built upon

Hygroscopicity

The determination of the water content of honey

Instar

The change between different stages in the larval life – bees have 5 changes

Langstroth

A type of bee hive

Larvae

The juvenile form of bee.

Migration

Bees leave a hive which they have occupied for some time.  Leaving combs with brood and honey

Migratory hive

Moving of hives to pollinate specific areas/fields

Pollen

The major source of protein for bees.

Pollination

The movement of pollen (male genetics) from plant to plant.

Proplis

The resin materials from plants which bees collect to fill in holes in the hive and provide some protection from pathogens

Pupae

The stage when the larvae transforms into the adult

Queen

The egg laying female

Queen right

A hive with a fertile healthy queen bee

Robbing

Bees from one colony collect and rob the honey from another hive

Royal Jelly

Substance produced by the mandibular and hyopharyngeal glands of worker bees

Scales

The dried remains of larvae or pupae

Smoker

Equipment to generate smoke

Super

The box (in a Langstroth hive) holding a brood or honey

Supercedure

Where the old queen is replaced within a hive

Top Bar

Popular hive in Africa

Undertaking

Removal of dead bees from the hive

Venom

Poison produced in the sting glands

Viscosity

The thickness of honey

Worker

The infertile female bee