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 |