Honey Bee Project! Take Two…. Honey Bee Background 1500 B.C. – early signs of Beekeeping Important Terms: Beekeeping Tools: 1568 – discovered bees could.

Honey Bee Project! Take Two…

Honey Bee Background1500 B.C. – early signs of Beekeeping

1568 – discovered bees could raise a queen from young larva

1586 – queen described as mother of the hive

1609- drones showed as male bees

1717- showed that nectar did not fall from the sky

1793- importance bees have in pollination showed

1637- discovered that all workers are female

Important Terms

Brood: a number of young produced or hatched at one time

Drone: A lazy male honey bee

Worker: Female honey bees who take care of the hive

Queen: mother of the hive

Propolis: A reddish resinous cement collected by bees from the buds of tree

Swarm: honeybees that emigrate from a hive and fly off together, accompanied by a queen, to start a new colony.

Overwinter: The bees ability of survive the winter

Not all Bees are the Same

Bumble Bee: Social insects that have black and yellow body hairs, often in bands.

Do not store honey, but feed on nectar and pollen. Live in

small nests (50).

Hornet: They make hive and comb out of

chewed tree bark. Feed on other insects.

Honey Bee: Any bee that stores and collects honey.(Apis Mellifera)

Honey Bee Breeds and Hives

Carniolan Honey Bee+ Originates in Slovenia + Over winters well+ Less susceptible to brood disease+ Rapid build up in early spring

Italian Honey Bees+ General purpose bee+ Easy to locate queen+ Wonderful Forager + Resistant to European Foul Brood

Langstroth Hive+ Invented in 1850 by Rev. L.L. Langstroth+ Start of industrial beekeeping+ Rectangular hive, movable frames, spaced specifically for honey bees

Top Bar Hive+ Developed in Greece thousands of years ago+ Inexpensive+ Natural size cells

Build

ing

the H

ive

Bringing the Bees Home

Next StepOnce Every Two Weeks

•Take picture of front and back of each frame• Use Photo Shop to analyze the data

Every Day

•Use Kestrel to get weather conditions •Rate the bees activity on a scale of 1-5

My Senior Year

• Analyze data•Write up report

Thesis StatementMore brood then honey

Brood kept in middle of hive

More active on sunny days

Why Should We Care About Bees?

Honey Bees are responsible for pollinating about 92 crops in the US

The value of honey bees to American agriculture is 15 billion dollars a year

OutroThis is an ongoing project

Threats to My Project

• Swarming• Varroa Mites• Other Animals• Bee Stings• Not getting enough data

Threats to Honey Bees

• Wax Moths• Bears• Argentine Ants• Varroa Mites

Varroa Mite

Wax Moths

Argentine Ants

Swarm

Sources

Bessin, Ric. "Varroa Mites Infesting Honey Bee Colonies." Univercity of Kentucky. Univercity of Kentucky, 00/oct/2001. Web. 12 May 2011.<http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef608.asp>.

"Bees in The Ecosystem." American Museum of Natural History. Museum of Natural History,

00/000/1998. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/1998/bees.html>.

"The Role of Bees in the Ecosystem." 5MinMedia: Web. 12 May 2011.

<http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhnejd_t he-role-of-bees-in-the-ecosystem_tech>.

Imirie, George. "History of Honey Bees." George's Pink Pages. N.p., 00/Dec/2000. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.tnbeekeepers.org/pubs/History%2520of%2520Honey%2520Bees%2520Dec%25202000.pdf>.

"Types of Honey Bee Breeds." BeekeepingStarterKit.com. BeekeepingStarterKit.com, n.d. Web. 12 May 2011.

<http://www.beekeepingstarterkit.com/>.

Chandler, P.J. The Barefoot Beekeeper. 3rd ed. Lexington, KY: 2009. 12-24. Print.