Honey Bees

Male Honey Bee Drones Male honey bee drone, called drones, develop from unfertilized eggs. Fertilized eggs become females—either queens or workers. Because drones come from unfertilized eggs, they have no father. The technical term for this is haploid, meaning they carry only half the genetic material of the queen and none from her mates. A…

The Queen Bee Everyone knows there is one special bee in the hive—the mother of all bees, the fertile daughter, and even the genetic source of every bee in the colony. A virgin queen usually goes unnoticed and receives no special treatment until she mates. A laying queen, however, becomes the center of the hive’s…

The worker bee – the bulk of the hive is made up of non-reproductive female workers.  As their name implies, workers do the bulk of the work in and out of the hive, and they make up more than 80 percent of the population.  Their roles are determined by their age and the needs of…

Beekeeping Seasons Beekeeping is a year-round responsibility with tasks that change by season. Activity is busiest in the spring and summer, slows in the fall, and centers on colony survival during the winter. In spring (March–May), beekeepers set up hives, conduct inspections, and manage swarming. Summer is dedicated to monitoring nectar flow and harvesting honey.…

The Queen Bee Somewhere in the undulating mass of bees is the queen.  Several physical attributes set the queen apart from the workers.  Her thorax is larger than workers and the black spot on the back of her thorax is bigger and shinier.  Her abdomen is much longer than the workers’, making her wings appear…

The core of the bee hive’s activity centers around the broodnest.  The queen typically lays eggs in a spiral pattern in the broodnest, starting from the center and working her way out.  As she moves around the comb the queen pokes her head into cells for inspection.  If a cell seems promising she’ll go into…

I’m fairly new to beekeeping, and I joined a company where we manage over 70 local beehives.  I jumped in quick and learned there is a Beekeeping Vocabulary.  Calling a Super the box thing doesn’t communicate very well.  Occasionally you may have to buy something like a frame for your hive, knowing that it’s called…

Natural Beekeeping is managing bees without synthetic chemicals or antibiotics low-intervention, approach prioritizing bee health over maximum honey production and avoiding artificial feeding. This method focuses on fostering resilient, locally adapted colonies.  Natural Beekeeping is what we strive for with the hives that we manage at Root Revival Park City Utah.     Unlocking Honey Bee Secrets The Complete…