For beekeepers-beginners
Abdomen—the segmented posterior or third region
of the body of a bee enclosing the honey stomach,
intestine, reproductive and other organs, and
stinger.
Absconding swarm—an entire colony of bees that
abandons the hive because of disease, wax moth,
or other maladies.
Adulterated honey—any product labeled “Honey”
or “Pure Honey” that contains ingredients other
than honey but does not show these on the label.
(Suspected mislabeling should be reported to the
Food and Drug Administration.)
Afterswarm—a small swarm, usually headed by one
or more virgin queens, which may leave the hive
after the first or prime swarm has departed.
Africanized bee—a population of bees in the
Americas, also called “killer” bees, which has
resulted from importation of bees into Brazil
from Africa in the mid-1950s known for their
defensiveness.
Alighting board—a small projection or platform at
the entrance of the hive.
American foulbrood (AFB)—a brood disease
of honey bees caused by the spore-forming
bacterium Paenibacillus (formerly Bacillus) larvae.
Anaphylactic shock—constriction of the muscles
surrounding the bronchial tubes of a human,
which can be caused by hypersensitivity to venom
and result in sudden death unless immediate
medical attention is received.
Apiary—an area where colonies of bees, and
perhaps other beekeeping equipment, are located;
also called bee yard.
Apiculture—the science and art of keeping
honey bees.
Apis mellifera—scientific name of the honey bee
found in the United States.
Automatic uncapper—automated device that
removes the cappings from honey combs, usually
by moving the frames between heated knives,
metal teeth, or flails.
Bacillus larvae—former name of the bacterium that
causes American foulbrood.
Bait hive—an empty hive or box, sometimes with a
pheromone lure, used to attract swarms.
Bee blower—a gasoline or electrically powered
engine with attached blower used to dislodge
bees from combs in a honey super by creating a
high-velocity, high-volume wind.
Bee bread—a mixture of pollen and nectar or honey
collected by foragers and deposited in the cells of
a comb to be used as food by the bees.
Bee brush—a brush used to remove bees from
combs.
Bee escape—a device used to remove bees from
honey supers and buildings by permitting bees
to pass one way but preventing their return.
Beehive—a box or receptacle with movable frames,
used for housing a colony of bees.
Bee metamorphosis—the three brood stages
(egg, larva, and pupa) through which a bee
passes before reaching maturity.
Bee space—1/4- to 3/8-inch space between combs and
hive parts sufficient to permit unhindered passage
of adult bees but too small for them to build comb
or deposit propolis.
Beeswax—a complex mixture of organic compounds
secreted by special glands located on the ventral
side of the worker bee’s abdomen; used for
molding six-sided cells into comb. Its melting
point is from 144°F (62°C) to 147°F (64°C).
Bee mite—a parasitic arthropod that infests
honey bee colonies . See also “varroa mite” and
“tracheal mite.”
Bee tree—a tree with one of more hollows occupied
by a feral (unmanaged) colony of bees.
Bee veil—a cloth or wire netting for protecting the
beekeeper’s face, head, and neck from stings.
Bee venom—the poison secreted by special glands
attached to the stinger of the bee.
Benzaldehyde—a volatile, almond-smelling
chemical used to drive bees out of honey supers.
Boardman feeder—a device for feeding bees in
warm weather; consists of an inverted jar with an
attachment allowing access to the hive entrance.
Bottom board—the floor of a beehive; usually
includes colony entry/exit.
Brace/ burr comb—bits of comb built between
parallel combs, between comb and adjacent wood,
or between two wooden parts such as top bars to
fasten them together permitting workers to move
easily within the nest.
Braula coeca—the scientific name of a wingless fly
commonly known as the bee louse.
Brood—the collective term for all immature stages
of bees: eggs, larvae, and pupae.
Brood chamber—the part of the hive in which the
brood is reared; consists of one or more hive
bodies and the combs within.
Capped brood—pupae whose cells have been sealed
with a porous beeswax cover by mature bees to
isolate them during their nonfeeding pupal
period; also called sealed brood.
Capping melter—device used to liquefy the wax
from beeswax cappings after they are removed
(uncapped) from honey combs.
Cappings—the thin wax covering of cells full of
honey; the cell coverings after they are sliced from
the surface of a honey-filled comb.
Castes—the two types of female bees of a honey bee
colony: workers and queen. (Sometimes drones
are incorrectly included as a third caste—they are
males.)
Cell—the hexagonal (six-sided) compartment of a
honey comb.
Cell bar—a wooden strip on which queen cups are
placed for rearing queen bees.
Cell cup—base of an artificial queen cell; made of
beeswax or plastic and used for rearing queen
bees.
Chilled brood—developing bee brood that have
died from exposure to cold; commonly caused by
mismanagement.
Chunk honey—honey cut from frames and placed
in jars along with liquid honey.
Clarifying—removing visible foreign material from
honey or wax to increase its purity.
Cluster—a large group of bees hanging together,
one upon another for warmth and/or cohesion.
Colony—the aggregate of worker bees, drones,
queen, and developing brood living together as a
social family unit in a hive or other dwelling.
Comb—a mass of six-sided cells made of wax by
honey bees in which brood is reared and honey
and pollen are stored; composed of two layers
united at their bases (also termed beeswax comb
or honeycomb).
Comb foundation—a commercially made structure
consisting of a thin sheet of beeswax (sometimes
laminated on a plastic sheet) with the cell bases of
worker cells embossed on both sides in the same
manner as they are produced naturally by honey
bees.
Comb honey—honey produced and sold in the
comb, in either thin wooden sections (4 x 4 inches
or 4 x 5 inches) or circular plastic frames.
Creamed (Crystallized) honey—honey that has
been allowed to crystallize, usually under controlled
conditions, to produce a tiny crystal that
gives the honey a creamy texture.
Crimp-wired foundation—comb foundation into
which thin crimped wire is embedded vertically
during foundation manufacture.
Cross-pollination—the transfer of pollen from an
anther of one plant to the stigma of a different
plant of the same species.
Crystallization—see “granulation.”
Cut-comb honey—comb honey cut into various
sizes, the edges drained, and the pieces wrapped
or packed individually.
Decoy hive—see “bait hive.”
Dancing—a series of repeated movements of bees
on comb; round and wag-tail (or waggling) dance
are used to communicate the location of food
sources and potential home sites.
Demaree—the method of swarm control that
separates the queen from most of the brood within
the same hive.
Dequeen—to remove a queen from a colony.
Dextrose—one of the two principal sugars found
in honey; forms crystals during granulation; also
known as glucose.
Dividing—partitioning a colony to form two or
more units termed divides or splits.
Division board feeder—a wooden or plastic
compartment suspended in a hive like a frame
to hold sugar syrup to feed bees.
Double screen—a wooden frame, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick,
with two layers of wire screen used to separate
two colonies within the same hive, one above the
other. An entrance is cut on the upper side and
placed to the rear of the hive for entry/exit to the
upper colony.
Drawn combs—combs with cells built out by honey
bees from a sheet of foundation.
Drifting of bees—the failure of bees to return to
their own hive in an apiary containing many
colonies. Young bees tend to drift more than older
bees, and bees from small colonies tend to drift
into larger colonies.
Drone—the male honey bee.
Drone comb—comb measuring about four cells
per linear inch where the queen typically lays
unfertilized eggs that become drones.
Drone layer—an infertile or unmated laying queen
or queen that has run out of sperm; she is able to
produce only unfertilized eggs.
Drumming—rhythmic pounding on the sides
of a hive to make the bees ascend into another
box/hive body placed over it.
Dwindling—the rapid dying off of old bees in the
spring; sometimes called spring dwindling or
disappearing disease (because a pathogen may be
involved).
Dysentery—an abnormal condition of adult bees
characterized by severe diarrhea; usually caused
by starvation, low-quality food, moist surroundings,
or nosema infection.
Electric embedder—a device allowing rapid
embedding of wires in foundation with electrically
produced heat.
European foulbrood (EFB)—an infectious brood
disease of honey bees caused by the bacterium
Melissococcus (formally Streptococcus) pluton.
Extender (grease) patty—a mixture of vegetable
shortening and granulated sugar placed above or
below the brood area for mite control; sometimes
includes the antibiotic Terramycin.
Extracted honey—liquid honey removed from the
comb usually by centrifugal force.
Feral bees—unmanaged colony of bees living in a
tree hollow or other enclosed structure.
Fermentation—a chemical breakdown of honey
caused by sugar-tolerant yeast; associated with
honey having a high moisture content.
Fertile queen—a queen, inseminated instrumentally
or mated with a drone, which can lay fertilized
eggs.
Field bees—worker bees at least three weeks old
that work (forage) outside the hive to collect
nectar, pollen, water, and plant saps for making
propolis.
Flash heater—a device for heating honey very
rapidly to prevent it from being damaged by
sustained periods of high temperature.
Food chamber—a hive body filled with honey for
winter stores.
Foulbrood disease—see “American foulbrood” or
“European foulbrood.”
Foundation—see “comb foundation.”
Frame—four pieces of wood/plastic (top bar, a
bottom bar, and two end bars) designed to hold
foundation/drawn comb.
Fructose—the predominant simple sugar found in
honey; also known as levulose.
Fumidil-B—the trade name for Fumagillin;
a chemotherapy used in the prevention and
suppression of nosema disease.
Fume board—a rectangular frame, the dimensions
of a super, covered with an absorbent material
such as burlap, on which is placed a chemical
repellent to drive the bees out of supers for honey
removal.
Glucose—one of the two principal sugars found
in honey; forms crystals during granulation;
also known as dextrose.
Grafting—removing a worker larva from its cell
and placing it in an artificial queen cup in order
to have the bees rear it as a new queen.
Grafting tool—a needle or probe used for transferring
larvae in grafting of queen cells.
Granulation—the formation of sugar (glucose)
crystals in honey.
Hive—a human-made home for bees.
Hive bee—an adult worker performing tasks within
the hive during the first 3 weeks of her adult life.
Hive beetles—see “small hive beetles.”
Hive body—a wooden box that holds ten (sometimes
eight) frames.
Hive stand—a structure that supports the hive.
Hive tool—a metal device used to open hives, pry
frames apart, and scrape wax and propolis from
the hive parts.
Honey—a sweet viscid material produced by bees
from the nectar of flowers, composed largely of a
mixture of glucose and fructose sugars dissolved
in 15–19 percent water; contains small amounts of
sucrose, mineral matter, vitamins, proteins, and
enzymes.
Honeycomb—see “comb.”
Honeydew—a sweet liquid excreted by aphids,
leafhoppers, and some scale insects that is
collected by bees, especially in the absence of a
good source of nectar. Finished honey is sometimes
called forest honey.
Honey bee—common name for Apis mellifera.
Honey extractor—a machine that removes honey
from the comb cells by centrifugal force.
Honey flow—a time when nectar is plentiful and
bees are capable of making and storing surplus
honey.
Honey house—building used for extracting honey
and storing equipment.
Honey pump—a pump used to transfer honey from
a sump or extractor to a holding tank or strainer.
Honey stomach (crop)—a portion of the digestive
system in the abdomen of the adult honey bee
used for carrying nectar, honey, or water.
Honey sump—a clarifying tank between the extractor
and honey pump for removing the coarser
particles of comb introduced during extraction.
Increase—to add to the number of colonies, usually
by dividing existing colonies.
Introducing cage—small wooden, wire, or plastic
cage used to ship/hold queen to introduce/release
her to new colony.
Inner cover—a lightweight cover used under a
standard telescoping cover on a beehive.
Instrumental (artificial) insemination—the introduction
of drone spermatozoa into the genital
organs of a virgin queen by means of special
instruments.
Invertase—an enzyme produced by honey bees
which they add to nectar to break down the
sucrose (disaccharide) to glucose and fructose
(monosaccharides), the sugars of honey.
Italian bees—most widely used population (race) of
honey bees in the United States; originated in Italy.
Langstroth Hive—our modern-day, man-made
home for bees; termed Langstroth for original
designer.
Larva (plural, larvae)—the second (feeding) stage
of bee metamorphosis; a white, legless, grublike
insect.
Laying worker—a worker that lays infertile eggs,
producing only drones, usually in colonies that are
hopelessly queenless.
Levulose—see “fructose.”
Mating flight—the flight taken by a virgin queen
while she mates in the air with several drones.
Mead—honey wine.
Migratory beekeeping—the moving of colonies of
bees from one locality to another during a single
season to take advantage of two or more honey
flows and/or pollination rentals.
Mite—see “bee mite.”
Nectar—a sweet liquid secreted by the nectaries of
plants; the raw product of honey.
Nectar guide—color (usually ultraviolet) marks
on flowers believed to direct insects to nectar
secretion site.
Nectaries—the organs of plants that secrete nectar,
located within the flower (floral nectaries) or on
other portions of the plant (extrafloral nectaries).
Nosema—a disease of the adult honey bee caused
by the protozoan Nosema apis.
Nuc or Nucleus (plural, nuclei)—a small hive of
bees, usually covering from two to five frames
of comb and used primarily for starting new
colonies, rearing or storing queens.
Nurse bees—young bees, 3 to 10 days old, which
feed and take care of developing brood.
Observation hive—a small bee colony in a hive
made largely of glass or clear plastic sides to
permit observation of bees at work.
Out-apiary (or yard)—an apiary situated away from
the home of the beekeeper.
Package bees—a quantity of adult bees (2 to 5
pounds), with or without a queen, contained in a
screened shipping cage.
Paenibacillus larvae—(formerly Bacillus larvae) the
bacterium that causes American foulbrood.
Paralysis—a virus disease of adult bees that affects
their ability to use their legs or wings normally.
Parthenogenesis—the development of young from
unfertilized eggs. In honey bees the unfertilized
eggs produce drones.
PDB (Paradichlorobenzene)—crystals used as a
fumigant to protect stored drawn combs against
wax moth.
Pheromone—a chemical secreted by one bee that
stimulates behavior in another bee. One well-
known bee pheromone is queen substance secreted
by the queens.
Piping—a series of sounds made by a queen
frequently before she emerges from her cell.
Play (orientation) flight—short flight taken in
front of or near the hive to acquaint young bees
with their immediate surroundings; sometimes
mistaken for robbing or preparation for swarming.
Pollen—the male reproductive cell bodies produced
by anthers of flowers, collected and used by honey
bees as their source of protein.
Pollen basket—a flattened depression located on the
outer surface of the bee’s hind legs surrounded by
curved spines or hairs adapted for carrying pollen
gathered from flowers or propolis to the hive.
Pollen cakes—moist mixtures of either pollen
supplements or substitutes fed to the bees in early
spring to stimulate brood rearing.
Pollen substitute—a high-protein material such as
soybean flour, powdered skim milk, brewer’s
yeast, or a mixture of these used in place of pollen
to stimulate brood rearing.
Pollen supplement—a mixture of pollen and pollen
substitutes used to stimulate brood rearing in
periods of pollen shortage.
Pollen trap—a device that is fitted to the colony
entrance for removing pollen loads from the
pollen baskets of returning bees.
Pollination—the transfer of pollen from the anthers
to the stigma of flowers.
Pollinator—the agent that transfers pollen from an
anther to a stigma: bees, flies, beetles, and so forth.
Pollinizer—the plant source of pollen used for
pollination.
Prime swarm—the first swarm to leave the parent
colony, usually with the old queen.
Proboscis—the mouthparts of the bee that form the
sucking tube or tongue.
Propolis—sap or resinous materials collected from
trees or plants by bees and used to strengthen the
comb, close up cracks, and so on; also called bee
glue.
Pupa—the third stage in the development (metamorphosis)
of the honey bee, during which the
organs of the larva are replaced by those that will
be used by an adult; also termed capped stage as
each cell is covered with beeswax.
Queen—a fully developed female bee, larger and
longer than a worker bee; also called mated queen
(a virgin queen is a newly emerged queen who has
not yet mated).
Queen cage—a small cage in which a queen and
three or four worker bees may be confined for
shipping and/or introduction into a colony.
Queenright—term used to describe a colony with
healthy egg-laying queen; opposite is queenless.
Queen cage candy—candy made by kneading
powdered sugar with invert sugar syrup until it
forms a stiff dough; used as food in queen cages.
Queen cell—a special elongated cell, resembling a
peanut shell, in which the queen is reared. It is
usually an inch or more long, has an inside
diameter of about 1/3 inch, and hangs down from
the comb in a vertical position.
Queen clipping—removing a portion of one or both
front wings of a queen to prevent her from flying.
Queen cup—a cup-shaped cell that hangs vertically
in a hive and may become a queen cell if an egg
or larva is placed in it and bees add wax to it; also
commercially available in beeswax or plastic to
graft larvae for queen production.
Queen excluder—metal or plastic device with
spaces that permit the passage of workers but
restrict the movement of drones and queens to a
specific part of the hive.
Queen substance—pheromone material secreted
from glands in the queen bee and transmitted
throughout the colony by workers to alert other
workers of the queen’s presence; also stabilizes
swarms, attracts drones to virgin queen for
mating, and inhibits development of new queen
cells.
Rabbet—a narrow ledge, often covered with piece of
folded metal that is cut into the inside upper end
of the hive body from which the frames are
suspended.
Rendering wax—the process of melting combs and
cappings and removing refuse from the wax.
Requeen—to replace existing queen with new queen
(see “introducing cage”) or capped queen cell.
Robbing—stealing of nectar, or honey, by bees from
other colonies.
Royal jelly—a highly nutritious glandular secretion
of young bees, used to feed the queen and young
brood.
Sacbrood—a brood disease of honey bees caused by
a virus.
Scout bees—worker bees searching for a new source
of pollen, nectar, propolis, water, or a new home
for a swarm of bees.
Sealed brood—see “capped brood.”
Self-pollination—the transfer of pollen from anther
to stigma of the same plant.
Self-spacing frames—frames constructed with
shouldered end bars so that they are a bee space
apart when pushed together in a hive body.
Skep—an older, traditional beehive design made of
twisted straw without movable frames.
Slatted rack—a wooden rack that fits between the
bottom board and hive body. This optional piece
of hive equipment enables bees to make better use
of the lower brood chamber with increased brood
rearing, less comb gnawing, and less congestion at
the front entrance.
Slumgum—the refuse from melted comb and
cappings after the wax has been rendered or
removed.
Small hive beetle—a scavenger beetle that is a
beehive/honey house pest accidentally introduced
into the United States.
Smoker—a device in which burlap, wood shavings,
or other slow-burning materials are used to
produce smoke that is used to subdue bees.
Solar wax extractor—a glass-covered insulated box
used to melt wax from combs and cappings using
the heat of the sun.
Spermatheca—a special organ of the queen in which
the sperm of the drone is stored.
Spur embedder—a device used for mechanically
embedding wires into foundation.
Sting—the modified ovipositor of a honey bee used
to deliver painful venom; used by workers in
defense of the hive, by queens to kill rival queens.
Sucrose—principal sugar found in nectar.
Super—any hive body used for the storage of
surplus honey; normally placed over or above the
brood chamber.
Supersedure—a natural replacement of an
established queen by a daughter in the same hive.
Surplus honey—honey that exceeds that needed
by bees for their own use and can be removed
(harvested) for human consumption.
Swarm—the aggregate of worker bees, drones, and
usually the old queen that leaves the parent colony
to establish a new colony. See also “afterswarms.”
Swarming—the natural method of propagation of
the honey bee colony. Also refers to the actual
process of bees exiting the hive.
Swarm cell—developing queen cell usually found
on the bottom of the combs reared by bees before
swarming.
Terramycin—an antibiotic used to treat European
foulbrood. Also used for American foulbrood
prevention, but it is not effective in killing the
spore stage of this disease.
Thin super foundation—a comb foundation used
for comb honey or chunk honey production which
is thinner than that used for brood rearing.
Tracheal (acarine) mite—Acarapis woodi, a tiny
tracheal infesting honey bee parasite.
Tylan—see “tylosin.”
Tylosin—an antibiotic used to treat American
foulbrood.
Transferring—the process of moving bees and
combs from non-standard or fixed-comb boxes,
bee trees and/or buildings into movable frame
hives.
Travel stain—the dark discoloration on the surface
of comb honey left on the hive for some time,
caused by bees tracking propolis over the surface.
Uncapping knife—a knife used to shave or remove
the cappings from combs of sealed honey prior to
extraction; usually heated by steam or electricity.
Uniting—combining two or more colonies to form a
larger colony.
Varroa mite—Varroa destructor (formerly Varroa
jacobsoni), a parasitic mite of adult and pupal
stages of honey bees.
Venom allergy (hypersensitivity)—a condition in
which a person, when stung, may experience a
variety of symptoms ranging from extensive
swelling, a mild rash or itchiness, to anaphylactic
shock. A person who is stung and experiences
abnormal symptoms should consult a physician
before working bees again.
Virgin queen—an unmated queen.
Wax glands—the eight glands that secrete beeswax;
located in pairs on the last four visible ventral
abdominal segments of worker bees.
Wax moth—larvae of the moth Galleria mellonella,
which seriously damages brood and empty combs.
May also refer to other, smaller moths that are also
hive pests.
Wild bee—a non-Apis bee or sometimes a feral
colony of honey bees.
Winter cluster—a spherical shaped clumping of
adult bees within the hive during winter.
Worker bee—a female bee whose reproductive
organs are undeveloped. Worker bees do all the
work in the colony except for laying fertile eggs.
Worker comb—comb measuring about five cells to
the inch in which workers are reared and honey
and pollen are stored.