A
The abdomen is the tail bit of an insect that attaches to the thorax (the middle bit that contains flight muscles). It contains the guts, heart, reproductive bits, breathing tubes, and stinger.
Abelo / Lyson hive: a sturdy poly hive with wall protection; boxes are moulded as one — no weak joints.
AFB, or American foulbrood, is a severe disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Its resilient spores make it particularly alarming. If infected, all the hives and bees in the apiary must be destroyed, highlighting the urgency of prevention and control.
Amitraz = Apivar: a varroa treatment, a synthetic substance. Treatment takes 6–10 weeks, with no supers in situ. Not to be confused with Apistan.
Anaphylaxis: a rare systemic reaction to a stimulus such as a sting. It causes a complex of symptoms and can be serious. 80% of cases are associated with a rash. It causes breathing difficulties and / or circulatory symptoms, i.e. low blood pressure and rapid pulse.
Apiary: a site where hives are stationed.
Apiguard: a varroa treatment derived from thyme. Hot weather is necessary for it to be effective.
Apistan = fluvalinate: Practically all mites are resistant to this treatment. The manufacturer reckons the mites may become sensitive if they have not been used for a while.
Apis mellifera: the scientific name for our Western honey bees. Apis mellifera mellifera is the name of the Black British bee.
Api life var: a varroa treatment derived from natural substances. It reacts with polystyrene.
Artificial Swarm: a technique to control swarming. The queen stays home with the supers and flying bees.
Ashforth feeder: This resembles the Paradise Honey feeder. There is also a Millar / Miller feeder that has twice the feeding area. Both are “rapid feeders,” and their footprint matches the hive.
Asian hornet: an invasive species that is prevalent in Europe. There is great concern that it might become established in the UK. It hawks at the hive entrance, catching bees as they fly in and out.
B
Bald brood: The cappings of pupae are removed by wax moth larvae. It does little harm in temperate climates.
Bailey Board: a sheet of ply with a QE covering a hole in the middle and a bit of a wall around the top (and bottom) surface. The wall has a front entrance. A Swarm Trap is the same thing.
Balling is when the bees form a tight knot the size of a golf ball around another insect to kill it. Occasionally, they get muddled up or want to protect the queen and kill her. It is proposed that they use this technique to kill an unwanted queen.
BBKA: British Beekeepers Association
“Beekeeper” or “Bee keeper” which is correct? The latter makes sense scientifically. Everyone else writes “beekeeper”. I use both.
Beeker: slang for beekeeper, not in general use
Bee space: The space the bees like to have so they can work singly or back to back. Gaps > 9 mm are prone to fill with comb and less than 4 mm with propolis.
BIAS: “Brood in all stages”
Bottom space: If the frames are level with the top of the upper edge of boxes, the bee space is under the frames in the box above. This space is where bees can move around between the boxes.
Box: hive body, occasionally referred to as a chamber.
Brace comb: wax bridging the gap between two or more parts of the hive or frames. Rarely referred to as bridge comb in the UK. Synonymous with burr comb.
Bring down stores: This is when wet frames or cappings mixed with honey are put above the brood nest, separated by a small hole. The bees carry the honey down into the hive (although if you leave it too long, they will fill the frames again).
British Standard hive: National or WBC
Brood box/chamber: a box containing frames where the colony rears its brood (babies).
Brood: encompasses eggs, unsealed brood (larvae) and sealed/closed brood (pupae). The plural of brood is not broods.
Brood and a half: A combination of two different national-sized boxes: a deep (standard brood box) with a super above it. Often used to over-winter colonies.
Brood nest: where the brood is cared for. With wooden hives, it is invariably in the centre of the box. If there is sufficient pollen coming in, it is bounded by frames of pollen, one frame on each side of the nest. Brood is also raised in the centre of the winter cluster. In the winter, the “cluster” is the brood nest.
Burr comb: comb in an inconvenient place, like between the top of frames and the bottom of the frames above.
BS hive: British Standard hive, a National or WBC.
C
Capping: sealing brood cells with a lid of wax mixed with pollen. Stores are capped with wax.
Cast: An after-swarm, called a secondary swarm, arises more than eight days after the primary swarm. It contains virgin queen(s).
Castellations look like those in castles. The lugs fit in the battlements and are used to increase the spacing between super frames. Consequently, the bees draw the comb further, which results in more honey and ease of removing the cappings.
Castes: The three bee castes are workers, drones, and queens.
Cell: the hexagonal wax tubes used to raise brood or store and process food.
Cleansing flight: going out of the hive to do a pooh.
Cold way: the frames in a hive are orientated 90 degrees relative to the entrance.
Colony: the family of bees that live in a hive.
Colony collapse disorder: The hive suddenly empties of bees, although the queen and a few bees remain. The cause is believed to be multifactorial; it is not a problem in the UK.
Comb: a frame full of drawn (often empty) cells. An area of wax hexagonal cells. It is called burr comb if they build it somewhere inconvenient.
Comb honey: a section (lump) of honeycomb, often produced for sale within a special frame.
Corbiculae: pollen baskets on a bee’s rear legs where she transports pollen or propolis.
Crown of thorns: a matchbox-sized cage with 4.3 mm slits between the thorns and between slits on the upper surface. It is used to temporarily incarcerate the queen or mark her.
Cross comb is comb between the faces or top bars of frames or comb, typically due to an uneven hive. It's rare with plastic frames.
Cushman (the late David) created a comprehensive online library of beekeeping information. Roger Patterson maintains the site.
D
David Evans writes The Apiarist blog.
DCA: drone congregation areas, precise areas in the landscape where drones and queens go to mate.
Dead out: a colony that dies in the winter.
Dearth: No nectar is available.
Demaree: a manipulation to prevent swarming. All the brood is placed at the top of the hive, and the queen goes in the bottom box. They are separated by two queen excluders and two supers.
Diploid: having two sets of chromosomes, like humans. In a honey bee colony, the queen and workers are diploid (16 × 2). Drones normally have only one of each chromosome; they are haploid.
Diploid drones: Several areas of bee chromosomes determine sex. If these sex-determining genes are different on each chromosome, the egg becomes female, whilst an egg that only has one pattern of sex genes becomes male, a drone. It follows that if an egg is fertilised, but both genetic areas that code for sex are the same, it becomes a male, not a female. These male bees are called diploid drones. They are killed whilst larvae or soon after they hatch. It is a sign of inbreeding and a cause of spotty brood.
Drawn/drawing comb: The foundation has been covered with wax cells. The bees are covering the foundation with wax cells.
Drifting: Bees enter a neighbouring hive mistakenly.
DN4: a foundation that fits National deep frames.
Drone-laying queen: a queen who has run out of sperm and can only lay unfertilised eggs; these turn into little drones. When not entirely without sperm, she will lay a drone brood interspersed with normal brood. Her laying pattern should be normal.
DWV (deformed wing virus) is present in all colonies; levels depend on the severity of the varroa infestation. The mite provides an efficient transmission route when it feeds on pupae, transforming the virus from a covert into a highly virulent one that kills colonies.