Origin and Classification

Question 1

True or false: honey bees are insects

Answer 1

True
Honey bees have 6 legs, 4 wings, and their bodies are segmented into the head, thorax, and abdomen

Question 2

How many castes are there in honeybees, and what are they?

Answer 2

Three castes
1. Drones
2. Workers
3. Queen

Question 3

True or false: drones develop from fertilized eggs

Answer 3

False
Drones develop through parthogenesis/unfertilized eggs

Question 4

What function do drones serve in honeybee colonies?

Answer 4

To mate with virgin queens

Question 5

What function do workers serve in honeybee colonies?

Answer 5

Perform most tasks within hive: building, defending, making honey, etc.

Question 6

True or false: all worker bees are fertile and female

Answer 6

False
All worker bees are female, but their reproductive organs are not developed. Queen pheromones inhibit the development

Question 7

What purposes does the queen serve within the colony?

Answer 7

• lays eggs
• produces pheromones for communication

Question 8

How long does each caste generally live for?

Answer 8

Drones: die after mating (2-3 weeks after emergence)
Workers: 1-5 months (depending on season)
Queen: 2-5 yrs

Question 9

Where did honeybees originate from?

Answer 9

Southeast Asia, ~ 70 million years ago

Question 10

Where was the earliest record of beekeeping 4000 years ago?

Answer 10

Egypt
Seen in paintings in temples, kept bees in clay cylinders, practiced migratory beekeeping. Ramses III even offered 15 tons of honey to God of Nile river

Question 11

What were Aristotle’s beliefs regarding bees and honey?

Answer 11

He believed that the queens were actually kings, and that honey made you live longer

Question 12

What did Nickel Jacob discover in 1568?

Answer 12

That queens develop from eggs

Question 13

Who discovered that the colony is led by a queen bee and not a king?

Answer 13

Luis Mendez de Torres

Question 14

In 1609 Charles Butler discovered what about honeybees?

Answer 14

That drones are males

Question 15

What did Richard Remnant discover in 1637?

Answer 15

That workers are females

Question 16

What did Anton Jansa discover about honeybees in 1771?

Answer 16

That queens mated with drones

Question 17

What is the latin/scientific name for the Western Honey Bee?

Answer 17

Apis mellifera

Question 18

Where and when was the western honeybee introduced?

Answer 18

From Europe, introduced to Americas in 17th and 18th century

Question 19

Who is considered the “father of modern beekeeping” and why?

Answer 19

L.L. Langstroth
Discovered the concept of bee space of 9mm. Also patented movable frames in 1851 that allowed for hive inspections and harvest of honey

Question 20

Which country is the largest producer of honey?

Answer 20

Asia
40 million hives, produce 150 million kg of honey per year

Question 21

Which country produces high amounts of beeswax?

Answer 21

Africa
They have 15 million hives that produce ~7kg of honey per colony. Because of low honey production they destroy the combs after to make beeswax

Question 22

How many hives does Canada have, and how much honey does each colony produce roughly?

Answer 22

750k hives
Produce >60kg of honey per colony