honey bees and beekeepingcpsc270.cropsci.illinois.edu/syllabus/pdfs/lecture09_beekeeping.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
General info What is a honey bee? Ecosystem services
Inside the hive Eusocial structure
How to get started Overview of equipment Resources
Sting safety Status of honey bees
Overview
What is a honey bee?
Apis mellifera(Order Hymenoptera; Family Apidae)
Source: WikipedianProlific at en.wikipedia
What is a honey bee?
NOT A HONEY BEE!
CC: Aconcagua@wikimedia
Honey bees are very economically important! Pollination Honey
According to the Calderone(2012), honey bees alone contribute over $19 billion to the value of US crop production (info from 2010)
Some crops depend entirely on honey bees (like almonds)
Ecosystem services
Top photo by Jared Thomas. Bottom photo by Scott Bauer PD-USGov-USDA-ARS
Economics of growing Almonds (Almond Board Council)
Ecosystem services
Flowers come in all shapes and sizes
Bee pollination (melittophily)
• Irregular in size and shape
• Color: Generally yellow or blue, with UV nectar guides (but many other colors as well)
• Hidden nectar (high sucrose)
• Abundant pollen
Ecosystem services
Flower images by Alvesgaspar @ Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Bees don’t like some flowers….
• Alfalfa• Nectar Robbing• Alkali bees
• Red isn’t the best color• Ornamentals don’t
always allow for pollination
Ecosystem services
Marigold image ©2014 Vista Horticultural Group via edenbrothers.com
Pollen NectarHigh protein content
High fat content
Some carbohydrates
Some vitamins (Niacin, Vitamin C, etc)
Con: Indigestible outer coating
Sugar! (Glucose, fructose, sucrose)
Amino acids
Some proteins/lipids/salts/etc
Con: Sometimes contains distasteful compounds as a defense against ants/florivores
Ecosystem services
Lilium auratum – pollen: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
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Inside the hive
Image of open Langstroth hive: CC By Chris Severn @ WikimediaOther two images by Jared Thomas
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Inside the hive
Honey bees are eusocial
EO Wilson definition of eusociality: Division of labor Overlapping generations Cooperative care of young
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Inside the hive
Nurse bees ForagersGuards
Workers
Nurse bee photo by Drew Scott Photography via adventuresinbeeland.comAll others by Jared Thomas
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Inside the hive
Workers
Nurse bees ForagersGuards
Workers
In hive jobs• Cleaning hive and comb• Feeding brood• Caring for the queen• Building comb (wax production)• Ventilation, etc…
Nurse bee photo by Drew Scott Photography via adventuresinbeeland.comAll others by Jared Thomas
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Inside the hive
Workers
Nurse bees ForagersGuards
Workers
• Scouts
• Water• Nectar• Pollen• Propolis (hive sealant/glue)
Nurse bee photo by Drew Scott Photography via adventuresinbeeland.comAll others by Jared Thomas
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Inside the hive
Nurse bees ForagersGuards
Drones
Workers
The Queen
Nurse bee photo by Drew Scott Photography via adventuresinbeeland.comDrone photo (Lower left image): CC-BY-SA-2.5 Photographs by User:Richard BartAll others by Jared Thomas
Drones
The Queen
• Same genetic material as worker bees• Fed special diet (Royal Jelly)
• A good queen lays 2,000 eggs/day• Live ~3 to 5 years
• Male bees• Develop from unfertilized
eggs (haploid)• Congregate to mate• Don’t collect nectar,
pollen, or help in the hive
Inside the hive
Queen bee picture by Jared ThomasLower left image: CC-BY-SA-2.5 Photographs by User:Richard Bartz
Communication
Foraging bees communicate resources through the waggle dance
• Distance• Direction• Scent
Inside the hive
Waggle Dance diagram CC-BY-SA-2.5 by Jüppsche @ WikimediaBees on frame photo by Jared Thomas
Inside the hive
http://youtu.be/lE-8QuBDkkw
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Inside the hive
Image GFDL, CC-BY-SA-2.5, CC-BY-SA-2.0-DE by Björn Appel, Username Warden @ Wikimedia
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Getting startedWhere to buy equipment and what to buy?Try mannlakeltd.com, dadant.com, or brushymountainbeefarm.com
At least one deep hive body At least one medium super Frames with foundation (plain wax, wire supported, or plasticell) Inner cover Top outer cover Screen bottom board Smoker Hive tool Bee brush Queen excluder Feeder (there are cheap alternatives such as using a gallon ziplock with a hole punched in it) Entrance reducer Bee suit or equivalent protection (THIS INCLUDES GLOVES!) many beekeepers opt for the Bug Baffler from bugbaffler.com
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Sting safety
This hurts…
Avoid stings by wearing protective gear and watching where you place your hands.
Put a band around the cuff of your pants
You should not work with bees without at least one EpiPen around. Two is the recommended number to carry with you.
Top image by Jared ThomasEpiPen product images © 2014 Mylan Specialty L.P.
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Current statusWhat is Colony Collapse Disorder?
CCD is a syndrome first seen in 2006
• Little to no adult workers in the hive• But no dead bees
• Queen still present• Honey and brood present• Hive often contains varroa mites
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Current status
“Overall losses to managed pollinators were about 33 percent. Relative to the overall losses, CCD contributed approximately 8 percent in recent national surveys. However, losses to individual beekeepers attributed to CCD may vary significantly by size of the beekeeping operation. Therefore, this statistic is just a rough estimate.”
8 year average –29.6%
2014 – 23.2% 2013 – 31.1% 2012 – 22%
~14%-18% loss reported as economically viable for beekeepers
22% response rate
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Bee Informed Partnership Apiary Instructors of America (AIA) and US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) CCD not indicated as major cause of colony loss Percentage loss in bees that were brought to CA for
almonds was higher (2013) In 20% of beekeepers, >50% loss
Current statusTotal overwintering colony loss
(October 1 – April 1)
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“It’s encouraging that, if anything, it’s not a steady downward trend.”
--May Berenbaum
Current statusTotal overwintering colony loss
(October 1 – April 1)
Current status
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Problems facing honey bees and their health
Pests Varroa destructor mites Small hive beetle Tracheal mites
Pathogens Foulbrood (some anti-biotic resistance) Viruses: Deformed Wing Virus, Black Queen Cell Virus,
Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, etc… Chalkbrood (fungus) Nosema (microsporidia)
Poor nutrition Nectar, not just sugar water!
Pesticides As well as miticides used in the hive!
Current status
Miticides Checkmite® (Coumaphos)
Organophosphate Also used against small hive beetle Also applied as plastic strips Resistance
28Varroa destructor image by Gilles San Martin https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanmartin/5048103407/in/photostreamCheckMite image from Amazon.com via MannLakeLTD
Miticides Apistan® (tau-fluvalinate)
A synthetic pyrethroid Contact pesticide Applied as plastic strips Resistance
29Tanacetum image CC-BY-SA-2.1-JP by KENPEI @ Wikimedia
Insecticides
30Mullin, C. A., Frazier, M., Frazier, J. L., Ashcraft, S., Simonds, R., & Pettis, J. S. (2010). High levels of miticides and agrochemicals in North American apiaries: implications for honey bee health. PLoS one, 5(3), e9754.
Insecticides
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Study across 23 states Found 121 pesticides in
the wax of hives
Green arrow is imidacloprid
Top two are used in-hive to control varroa mites