1
Q
The care needed when handling a colony of honey bees
A
- Keep in mind safety of self and others (consider proximity to public and precautions to be taken).
- Be slow and gentle when manipulating the colony in order to keep the bees as calm as possible
2
Q
Aware of the reactions of honeybees to smoke
A
- Bees fear for the colony, ingest nectar/honey, thus making themselves full, heavy and less likely to sting
- Make sure smoke not too hot or too much smoke is applied as bees may react badly
3
Q
The personal equipment needed to open a colony of honeybees and the importance of its cleanliness
A
- Essential- suit,gloves,smoker,hive tool, spare fuel/lighter
- Desirable- bee brush, icing sugar dispenser, container for removed brace comb,container with washing soda for cleaning equipment and cover cloth.
- Occasional use- queen cage, queen marking pen and cage
- must clean equipment between hives and apiary visit
- Beekeepers are a conduit for the spread of disease
4
Q
Aware of the reasons for opening a colony
A
- To check if it is queenright, sufficient stores and presence of disease
- To check the results of previous manipulations
- To perform new manipulations to achieve specific objectives
5
Q
The need for stores
A
- During the season a thriving colony requires 10lb honey to survive a week (equivalent of 2x brood frames of stores)
- Stores primarily means carbohydrate (nectar or honey) also pollen for protein to feed the brood
- To provide the bees with food during the June gap, late autumn, winter and early spring months and during prolonged periods of poor weather in the “honey flow” season
6
Q
Aware of the need for record keeping
A
• To help manage stocks more effectively by:
◦ Reminding you what you found and what you did
◦ Enabling you to plan what needs to be done next
• Record information like date, weather, queen sighting, queen cells, brood, stores,space, temper, varroa, supers, feed and treatments
7
Q
Able to open a colony of honeybees and keep the colony under control
A
- Spend a moment observing bees at the entrance before smoking in order to recognise normal behaviour
- Work from behind entrance if “warm” way and at side if “cold”way
- Put roof upturned on ground and supers on roof with crown beard to prevent robbing
- Check underside of QE or crown board for queen- return her to brood
- Handle frames carefully, remove dummy board and two frames carefully- place them to the side with care
- Demonstrate that you are aware of the use of cover cloths, which prevent more bees flying upand help maintain the hive temperature
- Demonstrate that you are aware that sometimes using a spray of tepid water can be better than smoke as the former calms them while the latter may panic them
- Return frames in the same order
8
Q
Able to demonstrate lighting and the use of the smoker
A
- Show you know what fuels are available, which are coolest and that fresh grass in the top prevents hot ash from being blown into the hive
- Few puffs at the entrance-wait for it to take effect
- Keep it alight and close at hand-lay on side while not in use
- Occasional use and waiting for it to take effect if the bees become too agitated
- Demonstrate use to control bees and drive them down before replacing parts
- Know how to put it out safely, block top up with grass or cork
9
Q
Demonstrate the use of the hive tool
A
- Keep tool in hand at all times
- It can be used for a variety of purposes- scraper, lever for boxes and frames
- Good practice to wash in soda between hives
10
Q
Remove combs from the hive and identify worker, drone, and queen cells or cups if present, and to comment on the state of the combs
A
- Remove outermost frame or dummy board making space to operate
- Demonstrate responsible temporary storage of removed frames (perhaps in spare brood box, or carefully propped against the hive or QE
- Do not roll bees, but use space made to move frames along and slowly lift them out
- Once found, some beekeepers temporarily trap the queen in a matchbox or queen cage to avoid losing or damaging her
- Recognise and comment on brood pattern (colour, age, type etc.), brace comb and spacing
11
Q
Identify the female castes and the drone
A
Females- workers and queen (or signs of queen)
12
Q
Identify brood at all stages
A
Eggs, larvae, pupae (sealed in cells)
13
Q
Demonstrate the difference between drone, worker and honey cappings
A
- Honey cappings are paler and waxier
- Brood cappings are various biscuit shades and look more fibrous in texture
- Drone cells have a larger surface area and are deeper (longer)-bubble appearance
14
Q
Identify stored nectar, honey and pollen
A
- Nectar is clear and uncapped
- Honey is capped
- Pollen is uncapped and a range of colours
- All three normally present in an arc around brood cells on the outermost frames
15
Q
Take a sample of worker bees in a suitable container
A
- Either shake bees onto appropriate surface- hive roof- or position populated brood frame appropriately
- Place the open part of the matchbox over bees and close it before removing from frame surface
16
Q
State the number of worker bees required for an adult disease diagnosis sample
A
- 30 or so live bees
* 2-300 dead bees for suspected poisoning, most likely found outside the hive
17
Q
Demonstrate how to shake bees from comb and how to look for signs of brood disease
A
• Make space by removing two frames
• Shake bees sharply from frame whilst it is still low in the brood box
◦ Hold lugs firmly
◦ Jerk firmly downwards, avoid hitting sides as you do so
◦ May need to do a second or third time to remove all the bees
18
Q
Name and explain the function of the principal parts of a modern beehive
A
• Stand, open mesh floor, entrance block, brood box, brood frame, foundation, queen excluder, super, super frame, crown board, porter escape and roof
19
Q
Discuss the concept of the bee space and its significance in the modern beehive
A
• The height of a bee is 3/8” or 6-9mm
• It is the crawl space needed by the bee to pass easily between two structures
◦ not so small they will propolise it <6mm
◦ not so large they will brace comb it >9mm
• Vertically you must opt for top or bottom bee space and not mix the two
• Hoffman frames are designed to set correct bee space, other frame types may need spacers
20
Q
Assemble a brood frame and fit it with wired wax foundation
A
- Nails across Hoffman shoulders
- Trap foundation wire loop between wedge and top bar and nail within loops
- nail up into both bottom bars=11 nails
21
Q
Discuss spacing of the combs in the brood chamber and super for both foundation and drawn comb and methods used to achieve this spacing
A
- Brood Chamber- bee space (11/12 frames in National)
- Spacing can be achieved using Hoffman frames, castellated spacers, metal or plastic ends
- super frames can be set wider once drawn comb is employed so more honey is stored per frame using either different castellations or size of end spacers
22
Q
Able to give an elementary account of the development of queens, workers and drones in the honeybee colony
A
Queen
• Egg- laid in or moved by workers to queen cell (looks like peanut hanging down)
• Larva- continuously fed on royal jelly
• Adult activities
◦ 1-5 days after emergence- groomed and fed by workers
◦ in about 3 days wings fully open and is capable of flight
◦ 5-14 days goes on series of mating flights
◦ 5 days after final mating starts to lay eggs
◦ continues laying productively for 2-3 years
Workers
• Egg- laid in open cells, first erect , gradually lying down
• Larvae- cared for by nurse bees
◦ continuously fed (1st 2 days royal jelly, then mixture of royal jelly, pollen and honey)
• Pupae- in sealed cells, no feeding, develops into adult and emerges on it;s own
• Adult activities
◦ 1-2 days after emergence- cleans cells and warms brood
◦ 3-5 days- feed older larvae with honey and pollen
◦ 6-10 days- feed younger larvae with royal jelly
◦ 11-18 days- ripen nectar, produce wax and construct comb
◦ 19-21 days- guarding and ventilation, take exercise and orientation flights to learn to fly and locate the hive
◦ 22+ days- forage for nectar, pollen, water or propolis
Drones
• Same development as workers until adult stage when only role is to mate with a queen
23
Q
Able to state the periods spent by the female castes and the drone in the four stages of their life-egg, larva, pupa and adult
A
Queen 3/5/8/ 2-5 years
Worker 3/6/12 6wks summer/6 mos winter
Drone 3/7/14 3 months
24
Q
Able to name the main local flora from which honeybees gather pollen and nectar
A
- Very early – crocus, snowdrops, flowering current, hazel
- Spring- fruit blossoms, rape, dandelions, sycamore, garden flowers
- Summer- field beans, borage, garden flowers, clover, chestnuts (propolis)
- Autumn- blackberries, ivy, willowherb, Himalayan balsam
25
Able to give a simple definition of nectar and a simple description of how it is collected, brought back to the hive and converted into honey
* Nectar is a sugar substance created by flowers to entice insects to visit
* Nectar is up to 80% water, bees prefer lower water content nectar
* Nectar is ingested by the bee into its honey stomach and regurgitated back at the hive
* Hive bees add enzymes to the nectar to break down it’s complex sugars and then store it in the comb
* Nectar is fanned to evaporate and reduce water content to about 18% at which point it will not ferment
* When ripe- it is sealed under a capping of wax
26
Able to give a simple description of the collection and use of pollen, water and propolis in the honeybee colony
Nectar
Carried from flowers in honey stomach of foraging bees then processed into honey by hive bees
Food- carbohydrate for energy
Pollen
Carried from flowers in pollen baskets on hind legs (will attach to hairs on bee until combed and pressed into baskets). Converted into bee bread by hive bees for feeding to larvae
Food- protein for growth
Propolis
Carried from plant wounds and buds in pollen baskets
• Used to seal cracks in hive
• reinforce and clean old comb
• entomb dead animals in hive
• limits bacterial and fungal growth
Water
Carried in stomach
• Mixed with honey before bees eat it or fed to brood
• used to cool hive on hot days-action of evaporation
27
Able to give an elementary description of the way in which the honeybee colony passes the winter
* winter workers – large fat bodies, live up to 6 months, cluster in a hive to retain warmth, vibrate wing muscles to generate heat
* rotate positions to take turns on the colder outer edge of the cluster
* 10-20k workers overwinter to regenerate colony in spring
* no drones
* queen in centre of cluster
* warmer days start water and cleansing flights, water employed on stores
28
Able to give an elementary description of how to set up an apiary
Site
• consideration for the public
• availability of forage and water
• environment- wind, sun, damp, frost pocket, flooding, livestock
• access and space for the beekeeper
Set up
• hive stand
• position close to high barrier to make bees go up
• warning notices
29
Able to describe what precautions should be taken to avoid the honeybees being a nuisance to neighbours and livestock
* Consider flight paths to main areas of forage and to water and of cleansing flights
* Erect barriers to encourage bees to fly up out of hive above head height
* avoid sites bordering roads where pedestrians or riders might pass
* keep only good tempered bees
* build good relations with locals, give talks and show the bees- gain interest, cooperation, support and respect
* take steps to prevent swarming
30
Able to describe the possible effects of honey bee stings on humans and able to recommend first aid treatment
Effects
• Local reactions (urticaria)- pain, itching,redness, swelling and heat
• General reaction (anaphylaxis)- systemic shock including breathing difficulties, swelling of lips, tongue or eyelids, vomiting, dizziness, pain
• It is good practice to carry a mobile phone to inspections and know the grid reference/postcode of your apiary in case of an emergency
Treatment mild reaction
• remove sting by scraping sideways with hive tool
• remain calm
• puff smoke onto site of sting to minimise stinging response by other bees
• take asparin or antihistamine as appropriate
Treatment severe reaction
• move away from hive
• remove sting
• administer epipen if one is carried and authorised by sufferer
• sit and remain calm
• loosen clothing
• deep breathing
• recovery position
• call ambulance
31
Able to give an elementary description of the annual cycle of work in the apiary
* Winter- clean, mend, replace, store equipment- check food levels and top up as needed- poss varroa treatment (oxalic acid if no brood)- check for wind and pest damage
* Spring- continue to check food levels if weather is poor- return queen excluder-regular inspections- swarm prevention and control- add supers- monitor varroa levels- possible Bailey comb change
* Summer- continue inspections- continue varroa IPM- replace old frames- make up nucs- replace queens
* late Summer- harvest honey- varroa treatment
* Autumn- combine weak colonies- remove excluder- supply winter food- prevent robbing- pest control measures- make secure for winter
32
Aware of the need to add supers and the timing of the operation
* Need to add to avoid overcrowding and increase stores
* apply when previous super is full of bees, not honey
* bees will work on closest super, add above existing super for speed of application, or below if planning to remove full super earlier than rest
33
Able to describe the preparation of sugar syrup and how and when to feed bees
* Spring and emergency feed 1kg sugar to 1.2l water- do not boil
* Autumn feed 2kg sugar to 1.2l water, winter stores need to be 15-20kg, at least 6 outer brood frames
* Time to feed in autumn if stores low, building up nuc or to a swarm after 48 hrs after housing
* feeding a full size hive via rapid feeder or reservoir
* feed nuc or swarm via contact feeder to prevent robbing
* feed at night and to all hives at the same time
* June gap
34
Aware of the dangers of robbing and how robbing can be avoided
Dangers
• Debilitates and depletes hive of bees and stores- can lead to starvation in winter
• leads to fighting
Prevention
• Feed during evenings
• Feed all hives in apiary at once
• inspect quickly and if it starts leave inspection until another day
• do not attract foreign bees by spilling fondant or sugar syrup
• keep exposed hive parts covered during manipulations
• reduce entrance in late summer and during periods of feeding to allow bees to repulse robbers
• keep hive in good condition and mend any holes or damage
• if needed stop up entrance completely with grass or leaves- remove later or next day
35
Able to describe a method used to clear honeybees from supers
* Crownboard fitted with Porter bee escapes and inserted below supers to be cleared- left overnight
* cone, rhombus, curtain or Canadian escapes
* mechanical blowing, use of chemical, bee brush
36
Able to describe the process of extracting honey from combs and a method of straining and bottling honey suitable for a small scale beekeeper, including hygiene.
* Possible need for warming cabinet- rape or cool day
* uncap frames with hot knife or uncapping fork
* insert in extractor, radial or tangential- uses centrifugal force to extract
* strain through pair of mesh filters into storage container
* leave to settle, get rid of bubbles and debris
* decant into clean jars
* use food grade plastic or stainless steel
* cover hands, hair, clothing, and environmental hygiene
* honey must be free from mould, insect debris, and other foreign substances
* water content must be less than 20%
* honey should not be excessively heated as this will destroy enzymes
* use new, sterile honey jars and lids
37
Aware of the various web based resources relating to beekeeping such as BBKA and Beebase
* Www.bbka.org.uk- for useful datasheets and information on local swarm collectors
* uestionsbeebase- for advisory notices on notifiable pests and best practice guides on subjects like feeding
38
Aware of the various web based resources relating to beekeeping such as BBKA and Beebase
* Www.bbka.org.uk- for useful datasheets and information on local swarm collectors
* Beebase- for advisory notices on notifiable pests and best practice guides on subjects like feeding
39
Able to give an elementary description of swarming in honeybee colony
* Swarming is a new queen and a cross section of bees leave the hive to establish a new colony
* It can be triggered by a reduction in the levels of queen substance because the queen is old, or because the hive has insufficient room for new brood
* The initial swarm is the prime swarm and contains the old queen. If more than one replacement queen hatches the strongest queen may kill the others or drive them out in cast swarms
* Before swarming, the old queen will be starved for upto a week so that she can fly, the bees in a swarm have four days supplies in their stomachs in order to ensure they have sufficient stores to establish a new colony
40
Able to give an elementary account of one method of swarm control
QCs found.
Pagden
Old floor and brood chamber to one side. Set up new floor, brood chamber and frames on original stand.
Go through old hive, find Q and one frame of brood (no QCs), put in new hive, replace any supers.
In old hive, reduce QCs down to 1 or 2, feed after 48 hours.
After 6 or 7 days, move new hive to other side of the stand with old Q.
41
Able to describe how to take a honey bee swarm and how to hive it
* Assess swarm-honeybees? Height, position and size of cluster
* liaise with owner- what will happen, how long, clear area of people
* prep equipment- ladder, secateurs, sheet, skep,string, smoker, fuel, lighter, clothing,assistant
* collect- knock down into skep, invert on sheet, raise edge of skep, return late in day and tie up
* re-hive on clean frames and new foundation-either shake into hive, or walk up ramp on sheet. Do not feed for 3-4 days, re-queen if needed
42
Able to describe the signs of a queenless colony and how to test if colony is queenless
* Absence of eggs, then absence of all brood
* bees listless, temperamental, agitated
* presence of sealed queen cell
* laying workers- more than one egg per cell laid on side of cell
* bees at hive entrance not taking in pollen
* test with frame of eggs from another colony, see if qcs are built
43
Able to describe the signs of laying workers or drone laying queen
Laying worker
• disorganised brood pattern
• more than one egg per cell
• eggs on side rather than base of cell
• laying workers may exist in most colonies, but worker police remove abnormal eggs
Drone laying queen
• all brood is drone
Rare as queen has run out of sperm so is usually superseded.
44
Able to describe a simple method of queen introduction
Why
• to change behavioural problems
• to eliminate certain diseases
• to deal with poor productivity
• to reduce likelihood of swarming
How
• colony should be receptive- remove existing queen and leave queenless for 24 hrs
• colony should not be queenless for more than 7-9 days in case of virgin queens
• insert new queen in butler cage with fondant plug hanging between 2 brood frames in centre of brood
• minimise stress to queen by retaining her attendants until last minute, do not introduce with her
45
Able to describe one method of uniting colonies, and precautions to be take
Method
• early in day remove unwanted queen
• in evening,
• remove roof and supers, put sheet newspaper under excluder-can make small slits in paper
• put other brood box directly on top of qe. Put qe on top if queen is in top box, but better if q is in bottom
• if returning supers, seperate with newspaper also
• replace roof
• bees chew through paper gradually amalgamating
• 7 days later, remove top brood box and combing frames , can add surplus brood to other colonies after shaking off bees
Precautions
• remove one queen- oldest, weakest
• remove any brace comb so there is a tight fit
• do so in evening when flying bees have returned
• seperate bees from different colonies with newspaper or they will fight
• must leave for 7 days, or will fail
46
Able to describe the appearance of healthy brood, sealed and unsealed
* Single egg laid in base of cell
* pearly white, c-shaped and segmented
* larvae of same age/size together
* biscuit coloured, dry looking, slightly convex- no perforations
* even brood pattern- excepting wires, late in season
47
Aware of the reasons for good apiary hygiene
Disease is spread by the beekeeper, also drifting and robbing
Do’s
• keep equipment clean- suit, wellies and smoker
• change comb regularly
• buy bees from reputable sources
• clean up any honey or wax spilt in apiary
• replace extracted supers on same hive
• wear disposable gloves
• put supers on roof with coverboard to foil robbers
• Propolis can be removed with washing soda
• Wash bee suits regularly
• Keep empty bucket with bee-tight lid to collect scrapings
• Face hives in different directions to reduce drifting
• If visiting other apiaries make sure suit and equipment are clean
Don’t
• feed honey to bees
• leave comb/honey in your apiary to be cleaned up/robbed
• leave wet supers around
• move equipment eg brood comb between hives
48
Aware of the reasons for regular brood comb replacement
* Reduces opportunity for disease and pests to establish
* good hygiene
* encourages colony to expand
49
Able to describe AFB and EFB (bacterial) Chalk brood (fungal) and Sac brood (viral
```
AFB
Sealed brood
sunken cappings
pepperpot pattern
scales at bottom of cells
decomposing ropey larvae
greasy perforated cappings
Progresses steadily until most of brood affected-colony can’t replace bees and dies out
NOTIFIABLE
incinerate comb and bees
scorch hive parts
EFB
Unsealed brood
yellow brown grey blue larvae in odd positions
larvae look melted
not ropey
bad smell
```
```
Debilitates but may not kill colony for months/years
NOTIFIABLE
shook swarm- outside hive
antibiotics
destroy weak colonies
```
```
ChalkBrood
Sealed brood
perforated cappings
hard grey chalk-like remains-mummies-easily removed and rattle
Healthy colonies can recover
replace comb
```
Sac Brood
Uncapped cells where pupa has dried to yellow brown scale-curled up at top like Chinese slipper
in early stages cappings perforated and not fully removed-cell contents can be fluid and sticky
not ropey
```
Adults
• shorten life
• start foraging earlier
• stop feeding larvae
• collect little pollen
usually clears up at end of season
if persistent, colony should be re-queened
```
50
Able to describe methods for detecting and monitoring varroa and describe effects on colony including associated viruses
Detection
• sudden decrease in adult population- few dead bees present
• bees with deformed wings and abdomens
• mites on bees, pupae and on hive floor- use mesh floor and DEFRA calculator
• other abnormalities- bald brood, poor pattern
• patches of dead
Effect
• little at low infestation
• slow replacement of bees
• foraging, brood rearing and defence breakdown
• complete collapse
51
Aware of acarine mite and nosema (fungus) and their effect on the colony
Acariosis
• infestation of trachea
• clusters of bees appear confused at front of hive
• bees climb hive front and blades of grass but can’t fly
• K hooks connecting wings become detached
• shortens lifespan of overwintering bees leads to colony demise
• no approved treatments
Nosemosis
• infestation of gut
• dysentery exacerbated by poor weather confinement
• shortens lifespan
• Queens less prolific
• no treatment- avoid cross contamination and keep healthy stocks
52
Able to describe ways of controlling varroa using integrated pest management techniques
* Monitor throughout the year
* at least 4 varroa counts per year
* open mesh floors
* dust with icing sugar
* drone brood culling
* apiguard after honey harvest
* artificial swarm
53
Aware of current legislation regarding notifiable diseases and pests of honey bees
```
Notifiable diseases
• AFB
• EFB
Notifiable Pests
• small hive beetle
• tropilaelaps
Contact Central Science Labs NBU
Place Apiary in standstill
Do what ever inspector directs
```
54
Aware of who to contact to verify disease and advise on treatment
* National Bee Unit (DEFRA) or BeeBase
* Regional Bee Inspector
* LocaL BKA Chair
55
Able to describe how comb should be stored to prevent wax moth damage
* Cool dry environment
* Frozen before/during storage if possible
* Treated with certan/acetic acid prior to storage
56
Able to describe how mice and other pests can be excluded from hives in winter
* Mouse guards
* wire netting to protect from woodpeckers
* fencing to protect from animals and humans
Beekeeping Basic
flashcards
Decks in class (1)
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