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The Hive! (…and various colony activities)

The Hive! (…and various colony activities). February 28, 2014. Inside Activities: Tending to Cells. Cell cleaning starts within a few hours of birth Prepares cells for eggs, pollen, and honey Remove debris and old cocoons Fresh wax or propolis (“bee glue”)

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The Hive! (…and various colony activities)

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  1. The Hive!(…and various colony activities) February28, 2014

  2. Inside Activities: Tending to Cells • Cell cleaning starts within a few hours of birth • Prepares cells for eggs, pollen, and honey • Remove debris and old cocoons • Fresh wax or propolis (“bee glue”) • Capping cells with beeswax and propolis • Honey caps • Brood cell caps

  3. Inside Activities: Tending to Other Bees • Tending to the brood • “Royal jelly” produced by specific glands • Switch to honey, nectar, and pollen (“bee bread”) • Tending to the queen • Queen’s retinue • Transmission of pheromones

  4. Inside Activities: Comb Building • Bees between 12-18 days old develop wax glands • Combs are separated by two “bee spaces” • Combs are slanted slightly upward • Hexagonal shape is compact and eliminates spaces in between cells • Queen cells are suspended vertically and found at the bottom of combs • Indicates a colony is preparing to swarm

  5. Inside Activities: Nest Homeostasis and Ventilation • Incubator bees generate heat in their thoraxes • Bees fan their wings near the entrance to pull warm air out of the hive • Maintain 50% humidity and constant temperature • Evaporate water and moisture

  6. Outside Activities: Flight • Orientation flights for young bees • Drone flights to establish mating areas • Foraging flights in search of pollen • Robbing flights when nectar stores are low • Cleansing flights

  7. Outside Activities: Foraging • “Dances” are used to communicate the location of food • Dr. Karl von Frisch received the Nobel Prize for discovering this! • Clues include the bee movements, vibrations in the comb, samples of the provisions, released chemicals • Occurs at a specific “dance floor” near the hive entrance • Round dance: circular pattern saying food is 160-330 feet away • Wagtail dance: figure-eight pattern saying food is over 330 feet away • Includes comb vibrations, frequency of waggles, and number of waggles

  8. Outside Activities: Bee Bearding • Clustering of bees outside the front face of the hive during hot weather • Occurs when bringing in water isn’t enough to cool the hive • Vacating the hive decreases the internal temperature • Beekeeper should increase ventilation by adding supers

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