Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
honey-bee colony
A single honey-bee cannot live for very long on its own. There would be no point in
doing so. A worker bee cannot reproduce; a queen bee cannot construct comb, collect
food or even feed herself; and a drone bee is able to accomplish only one task and that
is to mate. All three castes of honey-bee that live in a colony of bees - the queen, the
worker and the drone - therefore can live only as part of a colony. The colony is in effect
the organism, with the individual bees acting as the cells that make up that organism.
In order to keep bees successfully, the beekeeper has to understand that organism: how
and why it works and what it needs for its survival. Only then can the beekeeper work
with bees, adapting his or her requirements to theirs. You can't direct bees, but you can
encourage them to work your way - to a certain extent.
When you first look into a hive and see thousands of bees apparently moving around at
random and flying off the comb in all directions, the colony appears to be a place of chaos.
But it isn't. All this movement has a purpose and, within a short time in beekeeping,
you will begin to see this purpose for what it is, and that is a highly organized society
going about its business. You will also begin to notice when things aren't going right in
the colony and, with more experience, you will be able to look at each comb and, almost
instantly, will be able to picture clearly in your mind the state of the colony. Is it healthy?
Is there a queen? Is the queen laying well? Are the bees building up in numbers as you
would expect? Will they survive the winter? Do they need feeding? It is like reading a
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