Apiculture Management

Question 1

Taxonomy of bees
-Phylum
-Class
-Order
-Superfamily
-Family

Answer 1

-Phylum: Arthropoda
-Class: Insecta
-Order: Hymenoptera
-Superfamily:Apoidea
-Family: Apidea

Question 2

Spp. of honey bees
“Rock Bee”

Answer 2

(italic) Apis dorsata

Question 3

Sp. of honey bees
“Little bee”

Answer 3

(italic) Apis florea

Question 4

“Asian bee”

Answer 4

Apis cerana

Question 5

European bee

Answer 5

Apis mellifera

Question 6

Characteristic of Apis Dorsata

Answer 6

-open nesting
-large single comb that attaches to branches of trees and rocks
-Biggest honey bee
-temperament: furious
-Number of cells/10cm comb: 18-19

Question 7

Characteristics of Apis florea

Answer 7

• open nesting
• single SMALL comb that attaches to branches of TREES and BUSHES
• SMALLEST HONEYBEE
• temperament: mild
• # of cells/10cm comb: 32-36

Question 8

Characteristics of Apis cerana

Answer 8

• Cavity nesting
• builds parallel combs in cavities of tree trunks, hollows or rocks, poles
• medium size
• Temperament: furious
• # of cells/10cm comb: 21-25

Question 9

Characteristics of Apis Mellifera

Answer 9

• cavity nesting
• Builds parallel combs in cavities of tree trunks, hollows or rocks, poles
• medium sized
• temperament: gentle
• # of cells/10cm comb: 17-19

Question 10

which segment of the bees’ thorax contains wings

Answer 10

mesothorax & metathorax

Question 11

how many segments does the abdomen of a larvae have? how about the adults?

Answer 11

10 segments for larvae
6 segments for adults

Question 12

where are the wax glands of bees located?

Answer 12

present in the sternites 4-7

Question 13

Where are the sweat glands of bees located?

Answer 13

In the last 2 terga

Question 14

sac-like structure in the queen for sperm storage

Answer 14

Spermatheca

Question 15

How unique is the digestive system of a bee?

Answer 15

The esophagus of bees is expanded with honey stomach, wherein it is used as a storage for the collected nectar by the bees.

-proventiriculus (x-shaped)

Question 16

The imperfect female in the colony organization. They are unable to mate, though they may stary egg laying

Answer 16

workers

Question 17

duties of a worker bee till 3rd day of emergence)

Answer 17

Maintain wax cells sanitary state, cleaning their walls and floors, after emergence of you bees

Question 18

Duties of a worker bee from 4th-6th day

Answer 18

Feed older larvae with mixture of honey and pollen, and making flights around the hive for getting the layout of the hive

Question 19

Duties of a worker bee from 7th - 11th day

Answer 19

Hypopharyngeal glands (food glands) get developed and start secreting royal jelly and feed younger larvae

Question 20

duties of a worker bee from 12th - 18th day

Answer 20

The bees develop wax glands and work on building comb, construction of cells, etc.
Receive nectar, pollen, water, propolis from field gatherers and deposit in the combs cells and help in keeping the brood warm

Question 21

Duties performed by a worker bee from 18th to 20th day

Answer 21

guard duty

Question 22

duties performed by a worker bee from 20th day onwards.

Answer 22

field duty
exploring or foraging for nectar and pollen; collecting water and propolis

Question 23

Neither perform any duty in the hive.
they are fed by 3-4 worker bees and are driven out by the colony when new queens are being produced.

Answer 23

drones

Question 24

max lifespan of drones

Answer 24

59 days

Question 25

(social behavior of bees) the exchange of food:
communication regarding availability of food& water

Answer 25

Trophallaxis

Question 26

Social behavior of bees:
Performed by bees if food source is nearby

Answer 26

Round dance

Question 27

Social behavior of bees:
performed when the distance of food source is more than 100m from the hive

Answer 27

wag-tail dance

Question 28

Social behavior of bees: this dance elicits nestmates to help a bee groom

Answer 28

Grooming dance

Question 29

Social behavior of bees: this dance used to elicit swarming behavior

Answer 29

“buzzing runs”

Question 30

when is the period of swarming

Answer 30

This is when the queen has reached her peak of brood rearing activity under the stimulus of incoming pollen and nectar, mainly in late spring or early summer.

Question 31

causes of swarming

Answer 31

-overcrowding
- lack of ventilation
- presence of old queen
- sudden honey flow
- lack of space for egg laying & honey storage

Question 32

Period when honey bees gather and store surplus honey in the hive

Answer 32

Honey flow

Question 33

What are the indications of a honey flow?

Answer 33

Whitening of honey cells of the combs.
- appearance of large quantities of burr and brace combs
- increase weight of the colonies due to incoming nectar

Question 34

First abdominal segment is united with the metathorax and forms anatomically a part of the thorax known as?

Answer 34

Propodeum

Question 35

Unique anatomical structure of worker bees where nectar is stored

Answer 35

honey stomach

Question 36

Explain wag-tail dance

Answer 36

The bee starts dancing on the comb making a half circle to one side and then takes a sharp turn and runs in a straight line to a starting point. Thereafter takes another half circle on the opposite direction to complete one full circle.

location of food is indicated by direction of straight run in relation to line of gravity.

Question 37

Queen substance from queen bee that serves as an alarm pheromone and alarm odor from worker bees

Answer 37

9-oxo-2-decenoic acid (9-ODA)

Question 38

Cause of swarming

Answer 38

-Overcrowding and lack of ventilation
- Presence of Old queen
- Sudden honey flow
-lack of space for egg laying & honey storage

Question 39

Time of swarming

Answer 39

10am to 2pm on sunny days