Content
A strong bee colony produces marketable honey and several layering per season. They buy it for their apiary in the spring. By the time of purchase, at least a month should have passed from the flight. During this time, the process of changing bees takes place. The state of the colony makes it easier to understand whether the queen is good or bad. At the summer cottage, you can keep 3 bee colonies.
What is this "bee family"
In spring and summer, a bee colony should have 1 fertile queen, from 20 to 80 thousand workers, 1-2 thousand drones and brood from 8 to 9 frames. There should be 12 frames in total. Buying a bee package in beekeeping is considered the simplest way to develop a bee colony. According to GOST 20728-75, it should include:
- bees - 1.2 kg;
- brood frames (300 mm) - at least 2 pcs .;
- queen bee - 1 pc .;
- feed - 3 kg;
- packaging for transportation.
How the bee family works
For full life and reproduction in the hive, there must be a complete composition of the bee colony. A beginner beekeeper should have an idea of the structure of the bee colony and the functions of individuals. The uterus reproduces the offspring. Outwardly, it differs from other insects:
- the size of the body - its length can reach 30 mm;
- greater than that of workers in weight, it depends on the breed, it can reach up to 300 mg;
- they have no baskets on their paws, in which the workers collect pollen.
The queens do not have wax glands, the eyes are poorly developed. The life of the entire highly organized bee colony is built around the queen. Usually she is one per hive (bee family). There are many worker bees in bee colonies, the count goes to thousands. A lot of matters related to the life support of the bee colony inside and outside the hive are performed by them:
- build honeycombs;
- feeding larvae, drones, uterus;
- fly out to collect pollen, nectar;
- warm frames with brood, maintain the desired air temperature in the hive;
- cleaning the cells of the honeycomb.
Drones are obligatory members of the bee family. These insects are males, their role in the bee colony is the same - the fertilization of eggs, which occurs during their mating with the uterus. By virtue of their purpose, they visually differ from the females living in the hive. The drone has no sting, the proboscis is small. It is impossible for them to collect pollen from a flower. The dimensions of the male are larger than those of working females:
- the average weight of a drone is 260 mg;
- body size - 17 mm.
Drones find the female (uterus) by the smell of the uterine substance (pheromone). They sense it at a great distance. Workers feed the drones. During the summer, they eat almost 50 kg of honey. During summer cold snaps, they can warm brood (eggs, larvae) inside the hive, gathering in heaps near the cells.
How responsibilities are distributed between individuals of the bee colony
There is a strict hierarchy in bee colonies. The working process, continuously flowing inside and outside the hive, is distributed strictly according to age. Young bees, whose age does not exceed 10 days, are responsible for all family work on the hive:
- prepare the vacated cells in the honeycomb for new clutches of eggs (clean, polish);
- maintain the desired brood temperature, while they sit on the surface of the frames or slowly move along them.
The brood is looked after by nurse bees.Individuals pass into this status after they have formed special glands that produce royal jelly. The mammary glands are located on the head. Perga is a raw material for the production of royal jelly. Her wet nurses consume large quantities.
Drones mate with the queen outside the hive. This process takes place during the flight. It takes about 2 weeks from the moment of exit from the cell to the onset of puberty. During daylight hours, mature drones fly out 3 times. The first time is in the middle of the day. The duration of the flights is short, about 30 minutes.
Worker bees
All worker bees are female. One young individual, emerging from the cell, weighs up to 100 mg, the body size is 12-13 mm. Due to the lack of developed genital organs, workers cannot reproduce offspring.
Life cycle of a worker bee
The life span of worker bees depends on the strength of the bee colony, weather conditions, and the volume of the bribe. The first life cycle lasts 10 days. During this period of life, a young worker exists inside the hive, it is classified as a hive bee. During this period of time, the feeding glands are formed in individuals.
The second life cycle takes the next 10 days. It begins on the 10th day of the bee's life, ends on 20. During this period, wax glands are formed in the abdomen and reach their maximum size. At the same time, the mammary glands cease to function. An individual from a wet nurse turns into a builder, cleaner, protector.
The third cycle is the final one. It starts on the 20th day and lasts until the death of the worker. The wax glands stop functioning. Adult female workers turn into gatherers. They leave household chores for young insects. If the weather is favorable, pickers fly out for a bribe.
Hive and flight worker bees
A strict hierarchy is observed in each bee colony. It is built on the basis of the physiological state of worker bees, determined by their age. According to this hierarchy, all employees are divided into 2 groups:
- hives (40%);
- flight (60%).
The age of most non-flying individuals is 14-20 days, the older ones are included in the group of flying bees. Hive worker bees make short flights for 3-5 days, during which they cleanse the intestines by defecating.
The role of the worker bee
Having reached 3 days of age, young worker bees eat, rest and take part in brood care. At this time, they heat the brood with bodies. Growing up, the worker becomes a cleaner.
The queen can lay eggs in clean, prepared cells. The maintenance of the freed cells is the responsibility of the cleaners. A number of work on the maintenance of the cells falls on it:
- cleaning;
- polishing with propolis;
- wetting with saliva.
Cleaning ladies take out dead insects, moldy bee bread, and other waste. A working individual of a bee colony from 12 to 18 days of life becomes a nurse and a builder. The nurse bee should be close to the brood. She provides food for family members. The life of larvae, queen bees, drones, newly hatched from sealed cells of young bees, depends on the nurses.
The duties of the hive bees include:
- production of honey from nectar;
- removing excess moisture from the nectar;
- filling honeycombs with honey;
- sealing cells with wax.
For most of their short lives, worker bees collect nectar and pollen as part of the colony. An individual becomes a gatherer, having reached the age of 15-20 days.
How bee brood is formed
In beekeeping, brood is understood as a set of eggs, larvae, pupae. Bees hatch from them after a certain period of time. The arrangement (reproduction) of bee colonies takes place in spring and summer. From the eggs that the uterus laid in the cell of the honeycomb, larvae hatch on the 3rd day.
They eat hard for 6 days. In a short period of time, the mass of each increases 500 times. When the larva reaches the required size, they stop feeding it.The entrance to the cell of a female bee worker is sealed with wax.
A certain number of days pass before it turns into a full-fledged adult insect. The sealed chrysalis spins a cocoon around itself. The pupal stage lasts:
- drones - 14 days;
- it takes 12 days to form worker bees;
- 9 days pass before the appearance of the uterus.
Brood type | Description |
Sowing | Eggs lie in open cells of the honeycomb |
Cherva | Larvae live in open cells |
Open | Open cells contain eggs and larvae |
Printed | The cells are sealed with wax, they contain pupae |
The number of bees in the hive depending on the season
The strength of a bee colony is determined by the number of frames covered by bees. Frames with sides of 300 x 435 mm can hold 250 insects. Classification of the colony at the time of bribe:
- strong - 6 kg or more;
- medium - 4-5 kg;
- weak - <3.5 kg.
In a strong hive during honey gathering, the number of bee colonies is 60-80 thousand workers, in winter it decreases to 20-30 thousand. Pros of a strong family:
- a large number of flying individuals supplying nectar;
- maturation of honey is faster;
- flying individuals in bee colonies live longer, as they wear out less.
How long does a bee live
The lifespan of honey bees depends on the time of birth (spring, summer, autumn), the size of the brood, the intensity of daily work, diseases, weather, and the amount of feed. A significant role is played by the breed of the bee colony.
The most productive, hardy, resistant to infections are considered to be the bee colonies of the Central Russian breed. Individuals of this species survive long wintering (7-8 months). The Ukrainian steppe variety is resistant to low temperatures.
They easily adapt to the harsh conditions of the bee colony of the Krajina breed. In the harsh Russian climate, the Carpathian breed winters well. In the south of the country, Buckfast and Caucasian varieties are popular.
For a bee colony of any breed, you need to create favorable conditions:
- beehive of optimal size;
- warm wintering;
- leave a sufficient amount of food in the hives;
- take the apiary to a good place where there are a lot of honey plants.
How long does a worker bee live?
The lifespan of worker bees determines the time of their appearance. Insects born in the bee colony in spring and summer do not live long. From their exit from the cell to death, it takes 4-5 weeks. Collecting bees live up to 40 days in a strong colony, and in a weak colony only 25 days. There are many dangers on their path in life. Warm weather prolongs the life span.
Individuals that appeared in a bee colony towards the end of August or in autumn live longer. They are called winter bees, and their lifespan is calculated in months. In autumn, they feed on supplies, pollen.
There is no brood in the bee colony in winter. In winter, worker bees eat normally, lead a quiet, contemplative life. By the spring, at the time of the appearance of eggs, they retain a fatty body, perform the work of bees-nurses in the bee colony. They do not live until summer, they die out gradually.
How long does a queen bee live?
Without a queen, a full life in a bee colony is impossible. Its lifespan is longer than that of drones and worker bees. Physiologically, she can mate and lay clutches for 4-5 years. Long-livers are found in strong colonies. The uterus remains productive for a long time if it is well guarded and abundantly fed.
Most often, queens live in a bee colony for 2-3 years. After this time, the body of the mother is depleted due to the large number of clutches. When productivity falls, the number of laid eggs decreases, the bee colony replaces the queen with a younger individual. The queen of the hive, removed from the allowance, lives less than 5 years.
How long does a drone live
In bee colonies, drones hatch closer to summer. Having reached the age of 2 weeks, they are ready to fulfill their function - to fertilize the uterus.The lucky ones who gain access to the queen's body die immediately after the release of sperm.
Some of them die during the fight with other drones for the uterus. The surviving males of the bee family live for some time in the hive on full support. They are fed by nurse bees. When the honey collection period comes to an end, the drones are expelled from the hive. In bee colonies, where the queen has died or has become infertile, a certain number of drones are left.
Collapse of bee colonies: causes
The first time a new disease was recorded by beekeepers in 2016. Bee colonies began to disappear from the hives. They called it KPS - the collapse of a bee colony. With KPS, a complete gathering of bees is observed. Brood and feed remain in the hive. There are no dead bees in it. In rare cases, a queen and some workers are found in the hive.
Various factors can become the reason for the autumn gathering of the bee colony:
- long, warm autumn, the presence of a bribe in September;
- a large number of bee colonies in the wintering place;
- reducing the size of the nest in preparation for winter;
- varroatous mite.
This is a list of possible reasons for the gathering of bee colonies, even scientists do not have accurate data. According to many beekeepers, the main reason for the gathering of bee colonies is the mite and the lack of timely anti-mite treatment. It is believed that the insects in the bee colony are affected by new generation mobile communications (3G, 4G).
Conclusion
A strong bee colony is distinguished by high productivity, strong offspring, and a longer life span. For its maintenance, efforts and resources are spent less than for a weak bee colony. The guarantee of a strong bee colony is a productive young queen, a sufficient amount of forage reserves, a warm hive well equipped with combs.
"In spring and summer, a bee colony should have 1 fertile queen, ... .."
Fertile - how's that?
"The uterus reproduces offspring."
She does not reproduce anyone. She only lays eggs.
“There is a strict hierarchy in bee colonies. The working process, continuously flowing inside and outside the hive, is distributed strictly according to age. "
Age distribution is not a hierarchy.
"Some of them die while fighting other drones for the uterus." (?)
"A strong bee colony is distinguished by high productivity, strong offspring, and a longer life span."
And what is the life expectancy of a strong bee colony?