Biology Honors
Bee-coming A Beekeeper
For my honors project I wanted to make something for a cause I cared about, and that something is bees. It came to my attention in a few years ago that the worlds population of honeybees is dropping at an alarming rate. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has been a big environmental issue for quite a while now, and it's still more of a mystery than anything. I've done a few projects about CCD and although I don't consider myself a bee expert I figured I knew enough by now to finally go bigger in my research.
My goal this semester is to learn more about the honeybee itself and to become a beginner beekeeper. My hope is to help a hive of honeybees have a stable home where they can live and provide for themselves and the environment by the summer. A beehive is not too high maintenance but it requires being prepared. Which is why I know that 3 months is not enough to have a fully functioning colony. So with that being said I will not build my beehive right away because I am first seeking out assistance. I will be going to classes to learn how to keep bees the right way from a local bee enthusiast. I want to make sure I am doing everything correctly as this beehive will stay in my own backyard.
I know making a beehive doesn't help very much with CCD but from changing pesticides to planting bee friendly flowers it's the littlest things that help in the long run.
I look forward to documenting this process on my DP and seeing how far I come. I don't expect success but I do expect to learn.
What I know about Bee-ology (and other bee related info)
There are 3 main parts of a bee (head, thorax, abdomen) and 3 types of bees. Not only do they have different jobs but they look different too.
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Queen (lives up to 2 years)
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Worker (lives up to 40 days)
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Drone (lives up up 40 days)
The Anatomy of a queen bee is different because she has a long abdomen, this long abdomen has a egg laying organ at the end. She can lay fertilized eggs which become worker bees. They have a smaller abdomen than her because they don't lay eggs. And unfertilized eggs which becomes a drone, are slightly bigger than a worker bee and have bigger eyes. A drone is a male bee, they cannot feed themselves and their only purpose is to mate with a queen. Once they do they will die.
Honey bees live through the winter but do not lay eggs. Bumble bees do not live through the winter and begin to die during Fall. But in some places, like San Diego, there isn't much of a change in the weather. That means the bees here don't really need to hibernate or prepare themselves for the winter.
*Weather note* El Nino is coming here in San Diego, and rain is one of the biggest obstacles bees have. They become too cold which makes it hard for them to function and move. They cannot fly in the rain and therefore cannot collect pollen and nectar. They must remain in their hives until the rain is over or find places to take cover outside, but bees are most vulnerable when they are too cold.
Colony collapse disorder is a big problem everywhere. In the last half decade 30% of the bee population has disappeared and a third of all the colonies have died. Today there are 2.5 million colonies. The biggest reason for colony collapse disorder has been said to be a pesticide called Neonicotinoids. They are used on many crops and even sprayed on flowers that are sold in places like Home Depot. Studies have shown that Neonicotinoids effect bees immune system which makes them prone to infection. It's also been said to effect their memory making it hard for them to remember the way home or the way to food sources. It's been a debate whether this is really the cause of CCD but I personally think Neonictinoids are to blame.
Beekeeping 101
The first part of my project was to learn all I could about beekeeping. I emailed a lady that was in a local bee keeping society here in San Diego and she referred me to a class in Tecolote. The information I got from the class was really helpful and I was officially on my way to becoming a beginner beekeeper! I will be going to more classes when they are available, they will be more hands on. But I was glad that we started out with just the basics because there was a lot that I didn't know, and a lot of things that I hadn't thought about.
Down below are all the notes I took during the class, from beekeeper phrases to basic bee life:
Describe your image.
Describe your image.
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Describe your image.
Jobs in a hive are important to how well a colony is living:
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The queen has the most important job which is to lay eggs. Since the lifespan of a worker bee isn't too long if a queen isn't there to lay eggs eventually the colony can die.
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Another job in the hive is taking are of larvae. They need to eat too and are fed nectar and pollen while inside their cell.
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A different job is to build the combs that make their hive which is produced by beeswax.
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Another important job are undertakers, exactly what it sounds like. Short lifespans, diseases, or even protecting the hive can mean death. To prevent unwelcome visitors to the hive or spreading of diseases certain bees are given the task of moving the dead bees out of the hive.
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The next job a worker bee can have is a guard. As said above bees can die from protecting the hive. They stay on the outside by the entrance to fight off any mites, wasps, or ants.
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The last job a bee can have is collecting pollen. These are the bees you see outside on flowers. This job is given to the oldest worker bees.
New facts I learned:
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Queen bees can live up to 7 years
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Baby bees are called broods
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Queen bees are only fed "royal jelly"
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A swarm of bees is actually a group of bees breaking apart from a colony because there is not enough room. they leave and start another colony
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Swarming helps the species grow.
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A swarm is not officially a colony until they start building combs. Otherwise they are homeless and can be caught by a beekeeper.
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Swarming bees will not sting as they have no hive or honey to protect.
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It takes 5 million flowers to make 1 pint of honey.
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Bees need to be kept at a certain temperature to live.
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Killer bees are now known as Africanized bees because that is where they came from. These bees are more aggressive than regular European bees.
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San Diego has mostly Africanized bees.
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Another way beekeepers say their bees are aggressive is hot. "My bees are hot."
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The two different hives used for beekeeping are the Langstroth hive and the Top Bar hive.
About the Beehive - How it works and What I've learned -
Langstroth and Top Bar are different inside, but I have a Langstroth hive I will explain what it's like inside of it. It starts off as one box and the bigger the colony gets the more boxes that get added on. Inside are frames honeybees can make their combs off of, some hives come with comb foundations on the frames so that the bees are neater when creating their combs. It's debated in the beekeeping community whether this is safe for the bees or effects their honey in anyway. It is also said to not be a part of natural beekeeping, but it's all what the individual beekeeper prefers. The bottom of the hive is where the bees come in and out of, it's best to keep the hive off the ground so no other bugs or predators can easily get inside. Picking a location is very important, living in San Diego means I don't have to worry too much about my bees getting cold. But I do have to worry about them overheating, so the spot I pick will have to be some where they can get away from the sun if the need to. The honey bees get thirsty so I need to make sure they have a drinking spot where they can hydrate. It's best to use a shallow bowl so the bees will not drown and to make sure it is out of reach for other bugs. The Langstroth hive is used by most beekeepers commercial and non so I think it will be easier for me the ask questions if I keep this hive. I've heard the top bar is better for smaller spaces and I would not have to lift up boxes every time I need to check on the bees. Down below is a Top Bar hive.
Building a Beehive
I bought a beekeeping kit, inside were the basic things I would need to get started. It had gloves, a hat with a veil, a smoker, a beekeeping book, and a box for beginning a Langstroth hive. It was already built all I had to do was assemble the pieces once that was done I was ready to paint it. I debated painting it because I wasn't sure that it would be good for the bees. I did some research and found that if I used non toxic paint it would be okay. The next decision was the colors because I know that bees do not like dark colors and I also read that painting the hive dark would mess with their temperature inside. I decided to go with white which is a safe color and then yellow and light blue for details.
All my information
I learned so much that there was no way I could put it all onto my DP. I wrote a paper about the Biology of Bees and the Biology of Beekeeping. Down below is the link to read it so you can become a source of honey bee knowledge too.