Biology of the European Honey Bee What is a Honey Bee? Social Insects Pollinators Honey Wax
Biology of the European Honey Bee
What is a Honey Bee?
Social Insects
Pollinators
Honey
Wax
Order: Hymenoptera
Cicada Killer Wasp
Honey BeeApis mellifera
Other Honey Bees - Family Apidae
Apis dorsata
Giant honey beeApis cerena
Asiatic honey bee
Apis florea
Little honey bee
Life Cycle of a Honey Bee
Social Insects: Honey Bee Castes
Stages of a Developing Honey Bee
Queen
Lays eggs - 1,500 a day
Mates only once with several drones
Queens lay fertilized or unfertilized eggsfertilized – queen or workerunfertilized – drone
Queen – fed royal jelly as larvae
Only one queen in a hive – kill other queens
Fed and groomed by workers
Swarming – queen must loose weight to fly
Worker Bees - House Bees to Field Bees
Cleaning
Nurse bees
Fanning
Nectar transfer
Wax production
Guard bees
Foraging
Drones – male honey bees
•Mate with an unfertilized queen
•Genetic diversity • Queens mate with several drones
Drone eggs are not fertilized
No stinger
Don’t gather pollen or nectar
Drone Congregation Area males from different colonies
Larger Eyes
Bullet shaped cells
Hive Frames
Branched Hairs to Collect Pollen
Wax Production by Workers
Honey Super with Capped Honey
Honey Bee Communication Glands and Pheromones
Alarm PheromoneStinging
Nasonov Pheromone”We are over here”
Queen cell
Swarm
Honey Bee Communication
and Vision
Bee Space
Questions?