Apiary - colonies, hives, and other equipment assembled in one location for beekeeping operations; also known as a bee yard.

 

Bottom board - the floor of a beehive that all the other components build upon

Brace comb - a small bit of wax built between two combs or frames to fasten them together. Brace comb is also built between a comb and adjacent wood, or between two wooden parts such as top bars.

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Brood - immature bees that not yet emerged from their cells. Brood can be in the form of eggs, larvae, or pupae of different ages.

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Brood chamber - the part of the hive in which the brood is reared; may include one or more hive bodies and the combs within

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Burr comb - a bit of wax built upon a comb or upon a wooden part in a hive but not connected to any other part

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Capped brood - pupae whose cells have been sealed with a porous cover by mature bees to isolate them during their nonfeeding pupal period; also called sealed brood

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Cell - the hexagonal compartment of comb built by honeybees.

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Cluster - a large group of bees hanging together, one upon another

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Colony - all the worker bees, drones, queen, and developing brood living together in one hive or other dwelling

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Comb - a mass of six-sided cells made by honey bees in which brood is reared and honey and pollen are stored; composed of two layers united at their bases

 

Comb foundation - a commercially made structure consisting of thin sheets of beeswax with the cell bases of worker cells embossed on both sides in the same manner as they are produced naturally by honey bees

 

Comb honey - honey produced and sold in the comb. It is produced either by cutting the comb from the frame or when the comb is built in special frames which allow for its easy removal.

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Deep (hive box) - the largest box that make up the “living quarters” of the hive. This is the place where the eggs are laid and the brood is raised

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Drawn combs - cells which have been built out by honey bees from foundation in a frame

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Drone - the male honey bee

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Extraction -the process in which honey is drawn out of frames using centrifugal force with a honey extractor

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Extractor - a machine which removes honey from the cells of comb by centrifugal force

 

Fertile queen - a queen, which has been inseminated, naturally or artificially, and can lay fertilized eggs

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Frame - a piece of equipment made of either wood or plastic designed to hold the honey comb

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Hive (Beehive) - a box or receptacle with movable frames, used for housing a colony of bees

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Hive body - a wooden box which encloses the frames and is usually used as a brood chamber

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Hive tool - a metal device used to open hives, pry frames apart, and scrape wax and propolis from the hive parts

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Honey - a sweet viscid material produced by bees from the nectar of flowers, composed largely of a mixture of sugars dissolved in about 17 percent water. It contains small amounts of mineral matter, vitamins, proteins, and enzymes.

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Inner cover - a lightweight cover used under a standard telescoping cover on a beehive

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Larva (plural, larvae) - the second stage of bee metamorphosis; a white, legless, grublike insect

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Laying worker - a worker which lays unfertilized eggs, producing only drones, usually in colonies that are hopelessly queenless

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Mating flight - the flight taken by a virgin queen while she mates in the air with several drones

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Nectar - a sweet and often fragrant liquid secreted by the nectaries of plants for attracting animals. Nectar is the raw product of honey.

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Nectar flow - a time when nectar is plentiful and bees produce and store surplus honey

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Nucleus (NUC) - a hive of bees which consists of fewer frames than a typical hive and may be smaller in size. A nucleus usually consists of two to five frames of comb and used primarily for starting new colonies or rearing or storing queens; also called and commonly referred to a NUC.

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Nurse bees - young bees, three to ten days old, which feed and take care of developing brood

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Pheromones - chemical substances secreted from glands and used as a means of communication. Honey bees secrete many different pheromones

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Pollen - the male reproductive cell bodies produced by anthers of flowers. It is collected and used by honey bees as their source of protein

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Primary swarm - the first swarm to leave the parent colony, usually with the old queen (see secondary swarm)

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Propolis - sap or resinous materials collected from trees or plants by bees and used to strengthen the comb and to seal cracks; also called bee glue

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Pupa - the third stage in the development of the honey bee, during which it changes (pupates) from a larva to an adult bee

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Queen - a female bee with a fully developed reproductive system, and she is larger and longer than a worker bee

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Queen cage - a small cage in which a queen and three to five worker bees are confined for shipping and introduction into a colony

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Queen cell - a special elongated cell in which the queen is reared. It is above an inch or more long and hangs down from the comb in a vertical position.

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Queen excluder - metal or plastic device with spaces that permit the passage of workers but restrict the movement of drones and queens to a specific part of the hive

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Retinue - a small compact group of young workers who surround and attend to the queen. They face her, constantly examining her by antennal contact and licking her body surfaces. These attendants are responsible for feeding her royal jelly, grooming her, removing her excreted waste and obtaining and transferring pheromones.

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Robbing - stealing of nectar, or honey, by bees from other colonies which happens more often during a nectar dearth

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Royal jelly - a highly nutritious glandular secretion of young bees, used to feed the queen and young brood.

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Scout bees - worker bees searching for a new source of pollen, nectar, propolis, water, or a new home for a swarm of bees

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Secondary swarm - a smaller swarm which may occur after the primary swarm has occurred

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Shallow (hive box) - the smallest hive box 

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Smoker - a device in which materials are slowly burned to produce smoke (not flames) which is used to subdue bees. It is important to use a material that produces a cool smoke as not to harm the bees.

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Stinger - the modified structure of a worker honey bee used as a weapon of offense. Honey bees have a barbed stinger which stays embedded in the recipient of sting cause the bee to later die.

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Super (hive box) - also called “mediums” - any hive body, or smaller box, used for the storage of surplus honey which the beekeeper will harvest. Normally it is placed over or above the brood chamber.

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Supersedure - the natural replacement of an established queen by a newly reared queen in the same hive.

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Swarm - a large number of worker bees, drones, and usually the old queen that leaves the parent colony to establish a new colony.

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Swarming - the natural process of propagating a colony of honey bees.

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Swarm cell - queen cells usually found on the bottom of the combs before swarming.

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Varroa Mite - an external parasitic mite that attaches to the bees and attacks and feeds on the honey bee larva. The Varroa mite can reproduce only in a honey bee colony.

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Virgin queen - a queen which is not mated.

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Worker bee - a female bee whose reproductive organs are undeveloped. The majority of the honey bees are worker bees and they do all the work in the colony except for laying fertile eggs.