Apiculture Notes

Comparison of Different Honey Bee Species

Feature	Apis dorsata	Apis florea	Apis cerana	Apis mellifera
Nesting	Open nesting, single large comb (1m²), attached to branches/rocks	Open nesting, single small comb (palm-sized), fixed to bushes	Cavity nesting, parallel combs in tree trunks, rock hollows, poles	Cavity nesting, similar to A. cerana, builds parallel combs
Distribution in India	Plains & hills up to 1600m, highly migratory	Plains up to 300m, highly migratory	Found throughout India, 3 subspecies	Exotic species, introduced in 1962, found worldwide
Size	Largest honey bee (16-18mm)	Smallest Apis bee (9-10mm)	Medium size (14-15mm)	Medium size (14-16mm)
Swarming/Absconding	Strong tendency	Strong tendency	Strong tendency	Only in African subspecies
Temperament	Furious	Mild	Furious	Gentle (except African subspecies)
Honey Yield (kg/colony/year)	40 kg (wild, cannot be domesticated)	500g (wild, cannot be domesticated)	5 kg (hived, domesticated)	15 kg (hived, domesticated)
Honey Extraction Method	By squeezing (unhygienic)	By squeezing (unhygienic)	Centrifugal honey extractor (hygienic)	Centrifugal honey extractor (hygienic)
Number of Worker Cells per 10 cm Comb	18-19	32-36	21-25	17-19

Species vs. Subspecies

• Species: Reproductively isolated, cannot interbreed.
• Subspecies: Geographically isolated, can interbreed.

Subspecies of Hive Bees in India

Apis cerana Subspecies in India

Subspecies	Region
A. cerana cerana	North India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir)
A. cerana indica	South India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka)
A. cerana himalaya	Eastern India (Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya)

Apis mellifera Subspecies (Classified by Region)

1. Eastern Subspecies (Not suitable for modern beekeeping)

   • A. mellifera remipes (Iran)
   • A. mellifera syriaca (Syria, Israel, Lebanon)

2. European Subspecies (Widely used in beekeeping)

   • A. mellifera mellifera (Dark Dutch/German bee)
   • A. mellifera carnica (Carniolan bee; Southern Austria)
   • A. mellifera ligustica (Italian bee; Italy)
   • A. mellifera caucasica (Caucasian bee; USSR)

3. African Subspecies

   • A. mellifera intermissa (Tellian bee; Morocco, Libya)
   • A. mellifera lamarckii (Egyptian bee; Nile Valley)
   • A. mellifera capensis (Cape bee; Only bee where workers can rear queens)
   • A. mellifera adansonii (African bee; “killer bee”)

Additional Honey Bee Species Found Worldwide

Species	Found In	Remarks
Apis laboriosa	Bhutan, Yunnan, Nepal	Resembles A. dorsata, wild bee
Apis breviligula	Philippines	Resembles A. dorsata, wild bee
Apis binghami	Sulawesi	Resembles A. dorsata, wild bee
Apis andreniformis	China	Resembles A. florea
Apis koschevnikovi	Malaysia	Resembles A. cerana
Apis nuluensis	Malaysia, Indonesia	Resembles A. cerana
Apis nigrocincta	Indonesia	Resembles A. cerana

Special Types of Bees

1. Stingless Honey Bees (Domesticated but low honey production)

   • Melipona sp.
   • Trigona sp.

2. Pollen Bees (Non-Apis bees that help in pollination)

   • Over 20,000 species
   • Includes all non-Apis bees beneficial for pollination

Notable Fact about Apis mellifera in India

• First successfully introduced in 1962 at Nagrota Bagwan, Himachal Pradesh.
• Stationary colonies yield 10-15 kg honey/colony/year.
• Migratory colonies yield 45-60 kg honey/colony/year.
• Record yield: 110 kg honey from a single A. mellifera colony.

General Morphology of Honey Bees

 

Honey bees have body parts modified according to their food habits and social life. Like all insects, their body is divided into three main parts:

1. Head
2. Thorax
3. Abdomen

1. Head

The head contains important sensory organs and mouthparts adapted for feeding and communication.

Key Features of the Head

Feature	Description
Antennae	One pair of geniculate (elbowed) antennae
Compound Eyes	Two lateral compound eyes; bees can distinguish colors but are red-blind and can perceive ultraviolet rays
Ocelli (Simple Eyes)	Three ocelli on the top of the head that detect light intensity
Mandibles	Differ in shape among castes; used for grasping and scrapping pollen, feeding, and wax manipulation
Mouthparts	Adapted for sucking and lapping; tongue (proboscis) is used for ingesting liquids
Hypopharyngeal Glands	Secrete royal jelly, which is fed to the queen and young larvae

2. Thorax

The thorax consists of three segments:

1. Prothorax
2. Mesothorax
3. Metathorax

Each segment bears a pair of legs, while the mesothorax and metathorax also bear a pair of wings.

Functions of the Legs

Leg Pair	Function
Prothoracic (Front) Legs	Serve as antenna cleaners using a notch on the basitarsus and a tibial spur
Mesothoracic (Middle) Legs	Bushy tarsi act as brushes to clean the thorax; tibial spine loosens pollen pellets and cleans wings and spiracles
Metathoracic (Hind) Legs	Larger than other legs; have a concave tibia fringed with long hairs, forming a pollen basket (corbicula)

Wings

• Two pairs:
  • Forewings (Stronger, attached to mesothorax)
  • Hindwings (Smaller, attached to metathorax)
• Hamuli (tiny hooks) on hindwings interlock with forewings, allowing synchronized movement during flight.

3. Abdomen

The abdomen contains various essential organs and glands.

Key Features of the Abdomen

Feature	Description
Segment Structure	Appears 6-segmented in workers; originally 10 segments in larvae
Propodeum	First abdominal segment fused with thorax
Wax Glands	Located on sternites 4 to 7, produce wax for comb building
Scent Glands	Located on the last two tergites, release pheromones for communication
Sting & Ovipositor	Workers: Ovipositor modified into a sting; Queen: Uses ovipositor for egg-laying and stinging rivals
Reproductive System	Fully developed in queen and drones, reduced in workers
Spermatheca	Sac-like structure in the queen that stores sperm for lifetime use after mating

4. Important Anatomical Features

System	Description
Digestive System	Includes an oesophagus, an expanded honey stomach (stores nectar), and a ventriculus for digestion
Proventriculus	X-shaped opening that regulates food passage, separates pollen from nectar
Honey Production	Nectar is stored in the honey sac, regurgitated into comb cells, and converted into honey
Reproductive System	The queen stores sperm in the spermatheca and uses it throughout her life

Summary Table: Morphology of Honey Bees

Body Part	Key Features
Head	Antennae, compound eyes, ocelli, mandibles, hypopharyngeal glands, modified mouthparts
Thorax	Three segments, six legs, two pairs of wings, specialized structures for cleaning and pollen collection
Abdomen	Propodeum, wax glands, scent glands, sting, reproductive organs, honey stomach

Colony Organization and Division of Labour

Honey bees are social insects that live in well-organized colonies. A typical honey bee colony consists of:

• One queen (the reproductive female)
• Thousands of worker bees (10,000–30,000 or more)
• A few hundred drones (male bees)
• Brood (developing stages): Eggs, larvae, and pupae

1. Caste System in a Honey Bee Colony

A honey bee colony is composed of three distinct castes, each with specialized functions:

Caste	Number per Colony	Function
Queen	1	Reproduction (egg-laying), colony organization through pheromones
Workers	10,000–30,000	Perform all colony tasks: foraging, nursing, hive maintenance, and defense
Drones	Few hundred	Mating with a virgin queen

2. Queen Bee

The queen is the most important member of the colony, responsible for egg-laying and colony organization.

Characteristics of the Queen

Feature	Description
Number per Colony	Usually one (except during supersedure or swarming)
Reproductive Role	The only fertile female in the colony; lays both fertilized (workers/queens) and unfertilized (drones) eggs
Egg Production	A good queen lays 1,500–2,000 eggs/day
Feeding	Fed exclusively with royal jelly by worker bees
Lifespan	Can live 8 years or more, but is replaced every 1-2 years in commercial beekeeping
Queen Pheromone	Controls colony behavior: suppresses worker ovary development, stimulates foraging, and prevents new queen rearing
Mating	Mates with 5–7 drones in the air, stores sperm in spermatheca, and fertilizes eggs throughout her life

3. Worker Bees

Workers are sterile females that perform all the tasks necessary for colony survival.

Characteristics of Worker Bees

Feature	Description
Reproductive Role	Imperfect females; do not mate, but may lay infertile eggs if the colony becomes queenless
Lifespan	3–6 weeks in summer; up to 6 months in winter
Main Functions	Perform all duties in the hive and foraging

Duties of Worker Bees

Task	Description
Cleaning the Hive	Removing debris, dead bees, and contaminants
Feeding Larvae	Nurse bees feed young larvae with royal jelly or pollen-honey mix
Queen Rearing	Build and feed special queen cells when a new queen is needed
Hive Ventilation	Fan wings to regulate hive temperature and humidity
Guarding the Hive	Protect against predators and intruders
Wax Secretion & Comb Building	Produce wax and build honeycomb
Foraging	Collect nectar, pollen, water, and propolis
Honey Production	Convert nectar into honey by enzymatic action and evaporation
Drone Care & Ejection	Feed drones when needed, but expel them when resources are scarce

4. Drone Bees

Drones are male bees whose sole purpose is mating with a virgin queen.

Characteristics of Drone Bees

Feature	Description
Reproductive Role	Males; do not work in the hive, only mate with a virgin queen
Number per Colony	Few hundred during active seasons
Food Dependence	Fed by worker bees but expelled from the hive when not needed (e.g., winter)
Lifespan	Few weeks to months, depending on availability of food
Mating	Drones die after mating; they do not have a sting

5. Summary of Honey Bee Colony Organization

Caste	Function	Reproductive Role	Lifespan
Queen	Lays eggs, controls colony via pheromones	Fully developed reproductive system	Up to 8 years
Worker	Performs all tasks in the hive	Sterile, may lay unfertilized eggs in queenless colonies	3–6 weeks (summer), 6 months (winter)
Drone	Mates with virgin queens	No reproductive organs in colony; only mates and dies	Few weeks to months

Colony Organization and Division of Labor in Honey Bees

Colony Composition

Caste	Number in Colony	Function
Queen	1	Lays eggs, releases pheromones to maintain colony organization
Workers	10,000 – 30,000+	Perform all duties such as cleaning, feeding larvae, nectar collection, and defense
Drones	Few hundred	Mate with the queen during breeding season; die after mating

Roles and Characteristics of Each Caste

Caste	Characteristics	Functions
Queen	– Only one per colony (except during supersedure or swarming) – Lays 1,500-2,000 eggs per day – Releases pheromones to regulate colony behavior	– Lays both fertilized eggs (workers/queens) and unfertilized eggs (drones) – Does not feed larvae; relies on worker bees for nutrition (royal jelly) – Mates with 5-7 drones in flight and stores sperm for life
Workers	– Imperfect females (cannot mate) – Perform all tasks based on age – Life span: 40-50 days in active season, up to 6 months in off-season	– Cleaning, feeding larvae, ventilating hive, wax secretion, nectar and pollen collection, guarding hive, producing royal jelly, scouting for nest sites
Drones	– Larger, no sting – Depend on workers for food – Do not perform hive duties – Life span: up to 59 days	– Sole purpose is mating with the queen – After mating, they die – Driven out of hive after breeding season

Worker Bee Division of Labor (Age-based Duties)

Age (Days)	Duty
0-3	Clean wax cells, maintain hygiene
4-6	Feed older larvae, take orientation flights
7-11	Develop food glands, produce royal jelly, feed younger larvae
12-18	Develop wax glands, build combs, deposit nectar, keep brood warm
18-20	Guard hive entrance
20+	Fieldwork: Foraging for nectar, pollen, water, and propolis

Special Cases in Colony Organization

Condition	Effect on Colony
Laying Workers	If the colony is queenless for a long time, some workers’ ovaries develop and they lay unfertilized eggs (producing only drones). The colony eventually perishes.
Queen Loss	If the queen is lost, the colony detects the absence of her pheromones within 30 minutes and starts raising a new queen.
Alarm Pheromone	Workers release alarm pheromones when stinging to alert other colony members to danger.

Life Cycle of Honey Bees

Developmental Stages

Stage	Description
Egg	The queen lays eggs at the base of the cell, fastening them with mucilaginous secretion. Eggs hatch in 3 days.
Larva	Larvae are fed by worker bees and float in pearly white food. They undergo five molts during growth.
Pupa	The larva spins a cocoon and transforms into a pupa. The cell is sealed before pupation.
Adult	The fully developed adult emerges by cutting the wax capping of the cell.

Development Duration of Different Castes

Caste	Egg Period (Days)	Larval Stage (Days)	Pupal Stage (Days)	Total Development Time (Days)
Queen	3	5	8	16
Worker	3	5	12-13	21
Drone	3	7	14	24

Comb Structure & Brood Rearing

Comb Area	Contents
Central Part	Worker brood (to maintain temperature easily)
Upper & Peripheral Part	Honey storage
Surrounding Brood Area	Pollen storage (for easy access to feed larvae)
Drone Brood Area	Cells appear raised compared to worker brood cells

Social Behaviour of Honey Bees 

Aspect	Details
Social Insect Orders	Only Isoptera (termites) and Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps) have well-developed social structures. Within Hymenoptera, only families Halictidae and Apidae have fully social species.
Honey Bee Social Structure	Honey bees exhibit division of labour in laying eggs, nursing, comb building, guarding, food collection, and storage. Multiple generations live in the same nest.
Communication	Honey bees communicate via dances and trophallaxis (food exchange), which also helps in pheromone transfer.
Recruit Communication	Signals nest mates to a location where work (e.g., foraging) is needed. The scout bees communicate location, distance, and quality of food through dances.
Types of Dances	Round Dance (for food sources within 100 m) and Wag-tail Dance (for distances beyond 100 m).
Round Dance	Performed in small circles, no indication of direction, recruits search within 100 m based on floral odor and nectar sample.
Wag-tail Dance	Indicates distance & direction using gravity and sun position. Bees move in half circles followed by a wiggling straight run.
Wag-tail Dance Direction	– Upward Wag-Tail: Food in line with the sun 🌞↕️
	– Downward Wag-Tail: Food away from the sun 🌞⬇️
	– Left Tilted Wag-Tail: Food to the left of the sun 🌞⬅️
	– Right Tilted Wag-Tail: Food to the right of the sun 🌞➡️

Bee-Keeping Equipment and Their Functions

Equipment	Function
Bee Hive	Houses the bee colony, designed based on the bee space principle.
Stand	Supports the bottom board of the hive.
Bottom Board	Acts as the hive floor, providing an entrance for bees.
Brood Chamber	Holds brood frames where bees raise combs for brood rearing.
Frames	Wooden structures with a comb foundation sheet where bees build combs.
Super Chamber	Stores surplus honey collected by bees.
Inner Cover	Separates brood/super chamber from the top cover.
Top Cover	Serves as a roof for the hive.
Nucleus Hive	A smaller hive (4-6 frames) used for queen mating and colony division.
Observation Hive	A glass-sided hive for studying bee movement and behavior.
Comb Foundation Mill	Prints natural cell size onto wax sheets for hive installation.
Bee Veil	Protects the beekeeper’s face and neck from bee stings.
Smoker	Produces smoke to calm bees while opening the hive.
Uncapping Knife	Cuts the wax seal off honey-filled combs before extraction.
Hive Tool	Helps in opening, cleaning, and scraping hive components.
Queen Cell Protector	Protects developing queen cells from damage.
Queen Cage	Used for queen introduction to a colony and for transportation.
Bee Brush	Gently brushes bees off frames without harming them.
Feeders	Provides sugar syrup to bee colonies. Types: Slow feeder (friction top pail), Fast feeder (division board feeder).
Swarm Basket	Used to collect and transport bee swarms.
Queen Excluder	Perforated sheet allowing worker bees to pass but preventing the queen from entering the honey storage area.
Honey Extractor	Centrifugal machine to extract honey from combs.
Wax Melter	Melts beeswax to make comb foundation sheets.
Pollen Trap	Collects pollen from returning forager bees.
Bee Escape	Provides a one-way passage for bees to leave an area but not re-enter.

Bee Diseases

Honey bees are attacked by various diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and mites. These diseases can cause brood or adult bee death and may lead to the complete loss of colonies. The disease spreads through manipulations in the apiary, robber bees, swarms, and drifting bees. Below is a summary of common bee diseases, symptoms, and control measures.

Brood Diseases

Disease	Causative Organism	Time of Death	Cappings	Colour of Dead Brood	Position of Dead Brood	Consistency of Dead Brood	Odour	Type of Brood Affected	Control Measures
American Foul Brood	Paenibacillus larvae (Bacteria)	Late larval or early pupal stage	Sunken and punctured	Off white to dark brown or black	Lying flat on cell base	Sticky to ropy	Putrid glue pot odour	Worker, rarely drone or queen	Terramycin @ 0.250–0.400g in 5L sugar syrup feeding
European Foul Brood	Melissococcus pluton (Bacteria)	Coiled larvae in unsealed cell	Dead brood in uncapped stage	Yellowish white to dark brown or black	Coiled, twisted, or collapsed	Soft and gummy; rarely sticky or ropy	Slightly sour to putrid fish odour	Worker, drone, and queen	Feed Terramycin @ 0.2g in 500ml concentrated sugar syrup
Sac Brood/Thai Sac Brood	Virus (A. mellifera and A. cerana)	Late larval stage (usually older sealed larvae)	Capping removed or punctured often with two holes	Straw coloured, darkening from head	Extended with head curled upright in cells	Sac-like with watery content	None to slightly sour	Worker only	No effective cure

Disease	Causative Organism	Symptoms	Control Measures
Nosema Disease	Nosema apis (Protozoan)	Infected bees collect in front of hive, sluggish, crawlers on leaf blades, distended abdomen, dysentery	Feed fumagillin 200 mg in sugar syrup per colony or 0.5-3.0 mg in 100ml sugar syrup. Two feedings at weekly intervals of Dependel-M @0.5g/litre/colony
Acarine Disease	Acarapis woodi (Endoparasitic Mite)	Bees gather in front of hive as crawler bees, unable to fly, disjointed wings with typical ‘K’ wing condition	Fumigate using Folbex strips at weekly intervals or with formic acid (85%) @ 10ml/colony and replenish every 24 hours for 21 days

Disease Prevention Strategies

• Good Hive Management: Maintain hygiene, avoid overcrowding, and ensure proper ventilation.
• Regular Inspection: Check for symptoms early and isolate infected colonies.
• Proper Feeding: Provide balanced nutrition, including sugar syrup supplements.
• Use of Medications: Administer antibiotics and fumigants as preventive measures.
• Control of Mites and Parasites: Use recommended miticides and maintain bee health.

list of terms related to apiculture (beekeeping)

Term	Definition
Apiculture	The science of beekeeping.
Absconding	Desertion in which the whole colony leaves the hive.
Antenna cleaner	Basal part of basitarsus of prothoracic legs with a notch and a small lobe (tibial spur) used for cleaning antennae.
Apiary	A place where bee colonies are kept.
Bee pasture	Plants from which honey bees collect nectar and pollen, also known as bee flora or bee forage.
Breeder colony	Selected stock of mother queens from which new queens are reared.
Brood	Developmental stages of honey bees before adult emergence (egg, larva, and pupa).
Brood chamber	Chamber used for rearing brood.
Build-up period	Period of the year when bee population increases to the maximum.
Cape bee	The only bee species (Apis mellifera capensis) that can rear a queen from eggs laid by workers.
Cavity nesting	Honey bees building parallel combs in tree trunks, rock hollows, poles, and other covered places.
Cell builder colony	Colony managed to rear queen cells.
Comb	Hexagonal wax cells used to store honey and raise brood.
Corbicula	Pollen basket on the outer surface of worker bees’ hind tibia.
Dances of honey bees	Communication method using dances to indicate nectar source and volume.
Dearth period	Period when there is a scarcity of floral sources for bees.
Division of labour	Organization of colony members into different duties (nursing, guarding, foraging, etc.).
Drone	Male honey bee derived from an unfertilized egg.
Grafting	Transferring a worker larva into an artificial queen cup for queen rearing.
Hive bees	Honey bees that can be domesticated in hives.
Hive temperature	Maintenance of brood nest temperature at 32-35°C.
Honey flow period	Period with abundant nectar-secreting flora when colonies collect surplus honey.
Honey stomach	Expanded portion of the digestive system used to store nectar.
Hypopharyngeal glands	Glands in the head secreting royal jelly for feeding the queen and larvae.
Killer bee	Highly aggressive African subspecies (Apis mellifera adansonii).
Laying workers	Worker bees that lay unfertilized eggs, producing only drones.
Mating flight	Flight taken by a young queen to mate with drones.
Migratory beekeeping	Shifting bee colonies to nectar-rich areas.
Movable frame hive	Hive design based on bee space, allowing easy movement of frames.
Open nesting	Honey bees building single combs attached to trees, rocks, or bushes in the open.
Orientation flights	4-6 day-old workers making flights around the hive to learn its location.
Pollen bees	Bees other than honey bees that help in pollination.
Pollen substitute	Food supplement that does not contain pollen.
Pollen supplement	Food supplement that includes pollen.
Principle of bee space	Optimal distance between surfaces in a hive for normal bee movement.
Queen	The only fertile female in a colony, responsible for egg-laying.
Queen substance	Pheromone (9-oxo-2-decenoic acid) secreted by the queen for colony organization.
Robbing	Stealing of stored food by bees from other colonies.
Round dance	Dance indicating that a food source is nearby.
Social insect	Insects that have overlapping generations, division of labor, and communication systems.
Species and subspecies	Species are reproductively isolated, while subspecies are geographically isolated but can interbreed.
Spermatheca	Sac in the queen’s reproductive system for storing sperm.
Spring dwindling	Colony decline in spring when old bees die faster than new bees emerge.
Stimulatory feeding	Feeding dilute sugar syrup to stimulate colony growth in spring.
Sting	Worker bees’ modified ovipositor used for defense; queens use it for egg-laying and rival elimination.
Super	Hive chamber where surplus honey is stored.
Supersedure	Natural replacement of a failing queen in a colony.
Supplementary feeding	Providing colonies with sugar syrup and pollen substitutes.
Swarming	Natural colony division where a portion of bees leave with the old queen.
Trophallaxis	Food exchange between workers and from workers to the queen and drones.
Wag-tail dance	Dance indicating a distant food source.
Wild honey bees	Honey bee species that cannot be domesticated.
Winter packing	Protective covering for hives during winter.
Worker bee	Imperfect female bee that performs all colony tasks except laying fertilized eggs.

Apiculture Notes for Agricultural, Horticultural, and Forest Examinations

Apiculture is an essential topic for all agricultural and horticultural examinations. If you are preparing for forest-related exams, apiculture is equally important.

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