Beekeeping Basics
Beekeeping Basics
Beekeeping Basics
Basics
MAAREC: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
West Virginia, and the USDA cooperating
Beekeeping Basics ................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................2 Diseases of Adult Bees.................................................. 46
The Colony and Its Organization ..................................3 Parasitic Mites ............................................................... 48
Queen................................................................................ 3 Pests................................................................................ 54
Drones............................................................................... 4 Protecting Honey Bees from Pesticides..................... 61
Workers............................................................................. 5
Honey Production and Processing ............................ 62
Laying Workers............................................................... 5
Forms of Honey............................................................. 62
Bee Development........................................................... 5
Honey Removal and Processing................................. 66
Brood................................................................................. 6
Marketing....................................................................... 72
Beekeeping Equipment ...................................................7 Pollination ....................................................................... 73
The Hive .......................................................................... 7 Moving Bees................................................................... 73
Ancillary Equipment.................................................... 11 When to Move Bees on to the Crop............................ 74
Protective Clothing....................................................... 12 Colony Strength............................................................. 74
Number of Colonies Needed....................................... 75
Starting with Bees .......................................................... 13
Competitive Plants........................................................ 75
Package Bees.................................................................. 13
Colony Distribution...................................................... 75
Nucleus Colonies.......................................................... 16
Effect of Weather........................................................... 75
Buying Established Colonies....................................... 17
Crop Characteristics and Needs................................. 75
Collecting Swarms........................................................ 17
Pollination Contracts.................................................... 77
Taking Bees out of Walls and Buildings..................... 18
Selecting the Right Type of Bee for Handling Beeswax and Pollen Trapping ................... 78
Your Operation.......................................................... 19 Rendering Beeswax....................................................... 78
Apiary Location............................................................. 20 Trapping Pollen from Colonies................................... 79
Beekeeping in the Urban/Suburban
Setting......................................................................... 21 Floral Sources ................................................................. 80
Handling Bees................................................................ 23
Glossary ............................................................................ 82
Colony Management ...................................................... 25 Appendix ......................................................................... 89
Early Spring Management of A. Summary of Current Best Management
Overwintered Colonies............................................ 25 Practices.................................................................... 89
Swarm Management..................................................... 27 B. Apiary Inspection and Extension Services
Late Spring and Summer Management..................... 30 in the Mid-Atlantic.................................................. 90
Fall Management........................................................... 31 C. Chemicals Approved for Legal Use in
Summary of Management Practices Honey Bee Colonies ............................................... 91
throughout the Year.................................................. 39 D. Sources of Information and
Assistance for Beekeepers...................................... 94
Managing Maladies ........................................................ 41 E. Beekeeping Supply Companies............................. 98
Diseases, Parasites, and Pests and
Their Control.............................................................. 41
Brood Diseases............................................................... 41
Introduction
Beekeeping can be a fascinating hobby, a profitable
sideline, or a full-time occupation. You may want to
keep bees for the delicious fresh honey they pro-
duce, for the benefits of their valuable services as
pollinators, or perhaps simply for the enjoyment of
learning more about one of nature’s most interesting
insects.
Almost anyone can keep bees. Honey bees
normally only sting to defend themselves or their
colony; when colonies are handled properly and
precautions are taken, stinging is not a major
problem. Most beekeepers develop a tolerance for
bee venom over time and have reduced sensitivity
to pain and swelling. However, the few people who
react strongly to bee stings and pollen or who are
unable to get over fears of stings should avoid
contact with bees.
Most beekeepers in the Mid-Atlantic region are
hobbyists. Beekeeping is generally considered a
minor industry. However, because of its interrela-
tionship with agriculture and dependency of grow-
ers of several commodities on honey bee pollination,
beekeeping is much more important than merely the
value of the beeswax and honey produced annually.
This manual is all about beekeeping—under-
standing honey bee biology, getting started, man-
aging bee colonies for fun and/or profit—and is
designed to help you become a successful beekeeper.
Welcome to the world of beekeeping.
The Colony and Its Organization.......................................................................................................................................... 3
Days
Egg 3 3 3
Larval stage 5 ½ 6 6 ½
Pupal stage 7 ½ 12 14 ½
Total
Figure 4. Eggs laid by workers (laying workers) in a developmental time 16 21 24
queenless colony. (Courtesy Scott Camazine)
Beekeeping Basics .................................................................................................................................................................. 6
BROOD PATTERNS
Brood Healthy brood patterns are easily recognized when
EGGS looking at capped brood. Frames of healthy capped
Honey bee eggs are normally laid one per cell by the worker brood normally have a solid pattern with few
queen. Each egg is attached to the cell bottom and cells missed by the queen in her egg laying. Cappings
looks like a tiny grain of rice (Figure 5). When first are medium brown in color, convex, and without
laid, the egg stands straight up on end. However, punctures (Figure 8). Because of developmental time,
during the 3-day development period the egg begins the ratio should be four times as many pupae as eggs
to bend over. On the third day, the egg develops into and twice as many as larvae; drone brood is usually
a tiny grub and the larval stage begins. in patches around the margins of brood nest.
LARVAE
Healthy larvae are pearly white in color with a
glistening appearance. They are curled in a “C” larva
shape on the bottom of the cell (Figure 6). Worker,
queen, and drone cells are capped after larvae are
approximately 6, 5½, and 6½ days old, respectively.
egg
During the larval stage, they are fed by adult worker
(nurse) bees while still inside their beeswax cells.
The period just after the cell is capped is called the Figure 6. Cells
prepupal stage. During this stage the larva is still with healthy
grub-like in appearance but stretches itself out worker larvae.
lengthwise in the cell and spins a thin silken cocoon. (Courtesy
Dewey Caron)
Larvae remain pearly white, plump, and glistening
during the prepupal stage.
PUPAE
Within the individual cells capped with a beeswax
cover constructed by adult worker bees, the prepupae
begin to change from their larval form to adult bees
(Figure 7). Healthy pupae remain white and glisten-
ing during the initial stages of development, even
though their bodies begin to take on adult forms.
Compound eyes are the first feature that begin to take
on color; chang-
ing from white to Figure 7. Honey bee pupae changing from the larval to
brownish-purple. adult form. (Courtesy Scott Camazine)
Soon after this,
the rest of the
body begins to
take on the color
of an adult bee.
New workers,
queens, and
drones emerge
approximately
12, 7½, and 14½
days, respectively,
after their cells
Figure 5. Cells with fertilized eggs are capped.
laid by the queen. (Courtesy Figure 8. Comb of sealed worker brood with drone cells
Maryann Frazier) in the lower corners. (Courtesy Maryann Frazier)
Beekeeping Equipment........................................................................................................................................................... 7
Beekeeping Equipment
Equipment needs vary with the size of your opera- HIVE BODIES
tion, number of colonies, and the type of honey you The standard ten-frame hive body is available in
plan to produce. The basic equipment you need are four common depths or heights. The full-depth hive
the components of the hive, protective gear, smoker body, 9 5⁄8 inches high, is most often used for brood
and hive tool, and the equipment you need for rearing. These large units provide adequate space
handling the honey crop. with minimum interruption for large solid brood
The hive is the man-made structure in which areas. They also are suitable for honey supers.
the honey bee colony lives. Over the years a wide However, when filled with honey, they weigh over
variety of hives have been developed. Today most 60 pounds and are heavy to handle.
beekeepers in the United States use the Langstroth The medium-depth super, sometimes called the
or modern ten-frame hive. A typical hive consists of Dadant or Illinois super, is 65 ⁄8 inches high. While
a hive stand, a bottom board with entrance cleat or this is the most convenient size for honey supers, it
reducer, a series of boxes or hive bodies with sus- cannot be cut efficiently from standard-sized lumber.
pended frames containing foundation or comb, and An intermediate size (7 5⁄8 inches) between the
inner and outer covers (Figure 9, next page, includes full- and medium-depth super is preferred by some
dimensions for those wishing to construct their own beekeepers, especially those who make their own
hives). The hive bodies that contain the brood nest boxes.
may be separated from the honey supers (where the The shallow-depth super, 5 1⁄16 inches high, is the
surplus honey is stored) with a queen excluder. lightest unit to manipulate (about 35 pounds when
filled with honey). This size has the greatest cost of
assembly per square inch of usable comb space.
The Hive Section comb honey supers, 45 ⁄8 inches high,
HIVE STAND hold either basswood section boxes or plastic rings
The hive stand, actually an optional piece of equip- and section holders. Section comb honey production
ment, elevates the bottom board (floor) of the hive is a specialized art requiring intense management
off the ground. In principle, this support reduces and generally is not recommended for beginners.
dampness in the hive, extends the life of the bottom Some beekeepers prefer eight-frame hive bodies.
board, and helps keep the front entrance free of These were mostly homemade, but one U.S. bee
grass and weeds. Hive stands may be concrete supplier is now selling eight-frame boxes as English
blocks, bricks, railroad ties, pallets, logs, or a com- garden hive boxes. Beekeepers rearing queens and/
mercially produced hive stand. A hive stand may or selling small starter colonies (nucs) prefer to use a
support a single colony, two colonies, or a row of three- or five-frame nuc box usually with standard
several colonies. deep frames. These can be purchased from bee
supply dealers and are constructed from wood or
BOTTOM BOARD cardboard, the latter for temporary use only.
The bottom board serves as the floor of the colony Different management schemes are used accord-
and as a takeoff and landing platform for foraging ing to the depth of hive bodies utilized for the brood
bees. Since the bottom board is open in the front, the area of the hive. One scheme is to use a single full-
colony should be tilted forward slightly to prevent depth hive body, which theoretically would give the
rainwater from running into the hive. Bottom boards queen all the room she needs for egg laying. How-
available from many bee supply dealers are revers- ever, additional space is needed for food storage and
ible, providing either a 7⁄8 - or 3 ⁄8 -inch opening in front. maximum brood nest expansion. Normally a single
full-depth brood chamber is used when beekeepers
want to crowd bees for comb honey production,
when a package is installed, or when a nucleus
colony or division is first established. Most beekeep-
ers elect to use either two full-depth hive bodies or a
Beekeeping Basics .................................................................................................................................................................. 8
193/4" 14 5/8"
193/4" 14 5/8"
Bottom Board
2 3/8"
3 pieces 71/8" X 3/4" X 153/8" (floor)
2 pieces 23/8" X 3/4" X 22" (sides)
1 piece 23/8" X 3/4" X 145/8" (end)
14 5/8"
22" 15 3/8"
Hive Stand
513/16" 1 piece 3" X 3/4" X 145/8" (back end)
2 pieces 3" X 3/4" X 251/16" (sides)
1 piece 53/16" X 3/4" X 161/8" (front end)
22"
251/16"
161/8"
45°
This publication is available from the Publications Distribution Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 112 Agricultural Administration Build-
ing, University Park, PA 16802. For information telephone 814-865-6713.
Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by Penn State Extension is implied.