May 20, 2020

Beekeeping Glossary

American Foulbrood

A brood disease of honeybees caused by a spore-forming bacterium.

Apiary

Colonies, hives, and other equipment collected in one location for beekeeping functions.

Beehive

A box or container with movable frames, used for housing a colony of bees.

Bottom Board

The floor of a beehive that all the other components are built upon.

Brood

Immature bees that have not yet emerged from their cells. Brood can be made up of eggs, larvae, or pupae at different ages.

Colony

All the worker bees, drones, brood, and queen, living together in one hive.

Essential Oil

A concentrated, volatile natural extract from a plant that has the characteristic fragrance or “essence” of the plant from which it has been extracted. Lemongrass and Cornmint Essential Oils are often used in beekeeping.

Honey B Healthy

A mixture of essential oils (lemongrass and spearmint) commercially made and sold to boost the immune system of bees.

Nasonov

An attractant pheromone given off by a gland under the tip of the abdomen of worker bees that is essential to swarming behavior and is set off by disturbances of the colony. It can be mimicked with Lemongrass Essential Oil to lure bees.

Nectar

A sweet and often fragrant liquid secreted by plants for attracting animals. Nectar is the raw ingredient of honey.

Nectar Flow

A time when nectar is plentiful and bees produce and store a surplus of honey.

Nosema Disease

A disease caused by microsporidian parasites that cause reduced colony health, population, and performance.

Smoker

A device in which materials are slowly burned to produce cool smoke, which is used to subdue bees.

Swarm

A large number of worker bees, drones, and sometimes the old queen, that leave the parent colony to establish a new colony.

Swarm Trap

A hive or specially built box that is placed to attract and capture migrating swarms of honeybees.

Tracheal Mites

A parasitic mite that infests the trachea of honeybees.

Varroa Mites

A parasitic mite that attaches itself to and feeds on honeybees’ bodies.