Session 3 – The Colony Sat 22 nd /Sun 23 rd March 2014

 Nigel Hurst  3 yrs beekeeping  Hives in garden

 Individuals  Division of labour  Superintelligence

1 queen ~60,000 workers ~2000 drones but in winter ~10,000 workers 1 queen 0 drones Courtesy of Clive de Bruyn

Main nectar flow

Days

Ex: Biology of the Honeybee by Mark Winston NB: Worker and drones are laid in cells that are approximately horizontal whereas queens are laid and developed in cells that hang downwards

 dayscell cleaning, general hive cleaning  daysfeeding the brood  daysattending the queen  dayshoney processing  dayswax production and comb building  dayshive ventilation  daysguard duty  20 days - deathnectar collection  20 days - deathpollen collection  25 days - deathwater & propolis collection

 Summer bees  Up to 2000 a day  6 weeks (3 weeks outside of hive)  Exhaustion  Die away from colony  Winter bees  About 20 a day  Up to 6 months  Disease and old age  Adaptation