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Marked queen -
A beekeeper typically will attempt to find the queen while
tending to their bees. To help speed this process up, many beekeepers
mark their queen with a light colour dot.
Mead -
A delicious wine made from honey. It is highly recommend that
you are patient and leave your mead for at least 10 years to mature.
Nectar -
A sugar-rich liquid secreted by plants. It is derived from the Latin
word nectar which means “drink of the gods”. The bees collect the nectar
and turn it into honey.
Nucleus hive -
Often called a Nuc, this is a small colony from which a full
colony will grow. Typically, this will be a group of bees living on 4-5 frames
of brood.
Nurse Bee -
An immature worker bee whose role in the hive is to feed
the larvae.
Observation hive -
A small hive, normally made from glass, which allows
the colony to be observed.
Pheromone -
A chemical signal which triggers a response in other bees.
For example, if the colony is attacked, they release an alarm pheromone
which alerts other bees to the danger. By using a smoker the beekeeper
disrupts this pheromone signal and keeps the bees calm.
Piping -
A sound made by a queen which normally precedes her emerging
from her cell.
Pollen -
A fine powder product by the male of a plant. It fertilises other
plants and also provides and valuable source of protein for the bees.
Pollen trap -
A device which is placed on the entrance of the hive and rubs
the pollen from the legs of the incoming bees. The beekeeper can use this
to collect pollen.
Porter bee escape -
A type of bee escape based on two thin metal
leaf springs. See ‘bee escape’ for more details.
Propolis -
A resinous substance that bees collect from trees and plants. It
is used by the bees to seal up cracks (reducing movement or vibration).
Sometimes it is used to mummify something within the hive that they
cannot throw out - such as a mouse.
Pupa -
The final stage of a developing bee within its cell.
Queen -
A mated female. Normally, there will be only one queen within
a hive. Unlike a worker bee, she has fully developed ovaries and can lay
eggs which can develop into other queens, workers or drones.
Queen cell -
A large peanut like cell which is design to rear a queen. It
normally hangs vertically and is about 2 centimetres in length.
Queen excluder -
A metal or plastic crate that is large enough for worker
bees to climb through, but which the queen cannot fit through. It is
normally used to stop the queen from entering and laying eggs in the
comb used for honey.
Queen right -
A ‘queen right’ colony is a colony that has a laying queen. If
the queen is not laying then she is not ‘queen right.’
Requeen -
To introduce a new queen to an existing queenless colony.
Robbing -
The stealing of honey from a weak colony by other bees
or insects.
Royal jelly -
A food produced by the young worker bees. Some royal jelly is
fed to all of the larvae in the colony. However, if a queen is being reared,
then she is fed purely on royal jelly.
Sacbrood -
A viral disease which affect the larvae.
Scout bee -
A worker bee who looks out for sources of pollen, nectar,
water or a new site for the colony.
Skep -
A traditional simple beehive made from straw. It resembles an
upturned waste paper basket.
Smoker -
A box with bellows, in which a wide variety of materials are burnt
to product cool thick smoke. The smoke is used to hide the pheromone
signals produced by the bees, allowing the beekeeper to easily access
the hive.
Supercedure -
The process of replacing an existing queen with a new one.
This is natural process - but can be induced artificially.
Surplus honey -
If a colony is successfull, it will produce more honey than
it can use for its own stores. This surplus honey can then be collected for
the beekeeper’s own use.
Swarm -
A group of bees that have decided to move hive.
Wax moth -
A particular type of moth which lays it eggs in the brood
comb of a colony of bees.
Winter cluster -
A cluster of bees that huddle together to keep warm.
Worker bee -
A female bee who cannot lay eggs. The vast majority of bees
in the hive are workers. The worker bees keep the hive running smoothly
(feeding, cleaning, searching and gathering nectar and pollen for the
hive).
