Exam Revision notes Part 1

Question 1

Why is the Varroa mite a dangerous bee pest

Answer 1

The Varroa mite spreads viruses to the bees which can lead to colony collapse.

Question 2

Name two different ways in which a novice beekeeper can obtain a stock of bees

Answer 2

The can purchase them through their local Association or a reputable local supplier.

Question 3

Varroa mites prefer worker brood over drone brood for reproduction true or false

Answer 3

False

Question 4

What is varroa

Answer 4

Varroa are a honey bee pest , it is a parasitic mite that lives on the bees.

Question 5

What time of the year are drones normally present in a hive?

Answer 5

Late spring through summer, they are ejected from the hive in autumn as the hive prepares for winter.

Question 6

Queens and worker honeybees are both female. What are the main differences between the two castes?

Answer 6

The worker bees carry out the majority of jobs in the hive from regulating temperature to cleaning out cells , feeding young , caring for the queen, receiving food and storing it in the appropriate places, guarding the hive and foraging duties.
The queen lays the eggs for the hive to grow and survive. She has a longer tail and slightly larger legs , her thorax is also more distinctive than a workers.

Question 7

List two reasons why the smoker is such a valuable tool for working honeybee colonies.

Answer 7

Smoke masks alarm pheromones which include various chemicals that are released by guard bees or bees that are injured during a beekeeper’s inspection.
The smoke can be used to to move the bees so not to harm them during an inspection.

Question 8

How do bees carry nectar back to the hive?

Answer 8

The nectar is stored in a honey sac, a second stomach, until she returns to the hive.

Question 9

What information does the round dance convey to foragers?

Answer 9

By performing this dance, successful foragers can share information about the direction and distance to patches of flowers yielding nectar and pollen, to water sources, or to share new nest-site locations with other members of the colony.

Question 10

What is American foulbrood?

Answer 10

American foulbrood, caused by a spore-forming bacteria . It is a highly infectious bee disease. It is the most widespread and destructive of the bee brood diseases.

Question 11

When the beekeeper opens a hive for inspection, what should he/she normally be looking for?

Answer 11

Honey bee pests and diseases, the presence of brood in all stages ( eggs, larvae and Capped) and adequate food stores.

Question 12

How would you know a drone from a worker?

Answer 12

Drones have huge eyes that touch at the top of the head. Female worker bees have much smaller eyes that are well separated on the sides of their heads.
The drones are usually much larger and have larger rounder bodies.

Question 13

Name three ways in which American foulbrood is spread within an apiary.

Answer 13

Robbing.
Sharing resources( eg frames of feed or bees ) .
Cross contamination from tools and gloves.

Question 14

During an inspection, how would the
beekeeper know that the queen was
present and OK?

Answer 14

The presence of eggs suggests the queen is present and laying within the last 72 hours.
Another sign is the bees are behaving normal and not excessively fanning.

Question 15

What is the first job that needs to be done

in the apiary in spring?

Answer 15

Remove dead colony’s and inspect for disease.

Clean debris off floors

Question 16

What is a cast of bees

Answer 16

Check

Question 17

Where on the honeybee are the pollen baskets located?

Answer 17

Female honey bees carry pollen in corbiculae, or pollen baskets, located on the bees’ back legs.

Question 18

How would you know the queen from a worker?

Answer 18

The queen bee is larger, but more specifically, she is longer. Her lengthy abdomen extends out beyond the tip of her wings, giving her the appearance of having short wings.
She also had slightly longer legs.

Question 19

Are swarms normally good-tempered?

Answer 19

Bees that have just swarmed are usually remarkably good tempered. but it’s still very advisable to wear protective clothing.

Question 20

Name the types of cells that may be found on a brood frame.

Answer 20

There are six sections of a frame which are: capped honey stores; nectar; pollen; brood; queen cells, drone cells and empty cells.

Question 21

Which sex of the varroa mite survives the winter in a colony that has a broodless period?

Answer 21

Only mature female mites will survive after leaving the brood cells.

Question 22

What is a skep ?

Answer 22

a domed hive made of twisted straw.

Question 23

Name two types of hive in general use.

Answer 23

The National hive

The Langstroth hive

Question 24

What is a crownboard?

Answer 24

The crown board is a cover used to close off the top of a bee hive so that the main protective roof can be easily removed.

Question 25

Why would a queen become a drone

layer?

Answer 25

A drone-laying queen arises after a queen has run out of sperm or when a virgin queen fails to mate properly

Question 26

What kind of a disease is Nosema and
what would make you suspect that a
colony has it?

Answer 26

The disease is caused by the spore forming microsporidian. 
dysentery
Shorter life of worker bees
Lack of industry in the colony (slowness of development)
Lower than normal propensity to sting
Crawling bees
Disjointed wings
Distended abdomens
High propensity to supersede

Question 27

In beekeeping, what is meant by

“robbing”?

Answer 27

When the bees from a different colony enter another hive to steal honey stores.

Question 28

How many days does a worker bee spend

as a larva?

Answer 28

Check

Question 29

What would cause honey to ferment?

Answer 29

If the honey is harvested too early when its moisture content is to high

Question 30

What happens if the queen is accidentally killed

Answer 30

Once the The workers will realise they will begin raising an emergency queen.

Question 31

How many days after capping of the larva

in its cell does the worker bee emerge ?

Answer 31

9 days after the cell is capped the adult bee emerges

Question 32

What is the difference between swarming

and supersedure?

Answer 32

Swarming is when the hive splits in two as a form of reproduction.
Supersedure is when the colony asses the current queen is no longer fit to for her job and they set about replacing her.

Question 33

Why is ivy an important source of bee

forage?

Answer 33

It is the last source of nectar and pollen heading in to the winter and is an important source of winter food.

Question 34

In general, how long does the adult

worker bee live in summer?

Answer 34

The life span of an adult bee in summer is around 6-7 weeks

Question 35

Describe two actions that a beekeeper
may take to reduce drifting between
colonies.

Answer 35

The beekeeper can
Face hive entrances in different directions.
Make the hive entrances distinctive, using shapes and colours that the bees can see and differentiate between.

Question 36

For what purpose do bees collect

propolis?

Answer 36

Propolis is a resinous material used by bees to seal hive walls and to strengthen the borders of the combs and the hive entrance. It has shown to have antivirus and antibacterial properties.

Question 37

What causes laying workers ?

Answer 37

Laying workers are caused if or when a hive becomes hopelessly queenless or queen and brood pheromones drop to negligible levels.

Question 38

What is a Porter bee-escape?

Answer 38

Acting as a one-way gate between boxes of your hive, the bee escape allows workers to leave a honey super or brood box but not return.

Question 39

How would you know if there was a “honey flow” on?

Answer 39

There is lots of activity at the entrance, bees flying off fast and bees landing and slowly walking back in. The bees are usually more docile as they are focused on bringing in and processing nectar and pollen.

Question 40

How is nectar changed into honey?

Answer 40

The nectar is passed from the forager to house bees in the hive, the enzymes in there sac further converts the nectar to honey , it is then placed in a cell to reduce the water content and get capped