Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
remember, and in Chapter 11 we come back to it when we look at rearing queens. One
thing is certain, though, and that is that each time a beekeeper looks into the hive, they
should check on the existence of, and health of, the queen.
Finding a new nesting site
The queen, worker and drone are, then, the residents in a healthy colony of bees.
When a swarm of bees takes up residence at a site of their choosing, this site has been
carefully chosen for certain characteristics. Occasionally, a swarm is unable to find a
suitable home and so will end up out in the open where it may prosper for a while until
succumbing to cold, wet weather in the winter months or to varroa. Generally, however,
a cavity is looked for. This could be a hollow tree, an old chimney, a cavity wall or, on
one occasion, the pannier of a motorcycle.
Inspection of bee nests has found that the average nest comprises a cavity of around
40 l (70 pt) capacity, with most being between 20 and 100 l (35 and 175 pt), and these
can differ between the different races. Research has shown that the Italian bee prefers a
cavity of around 30 l (50 pt), whereas the central European German bee prefers a cavity
of 60 l (100 pt). Tropical honey-bees often choose sites outside cavities under branches
or overhangs.
The colony will choose a site out of direct exposure to sun, wind and rain with
south-facing entrances (in the Northern Hemisphere), and the preferred cavity
has only one entrance. From this knowledge, humans have been able to design the
best type of artificial cavity to make for their bees and have learnt the best places to
put them. Modern beehives and their preferred locations have been based on these
criteria.
Developing the colony
On arrival at a new nest site, the workers immediately start to synthesize the honey in
their stomachs into wax and begin to build comb. Until they build comb, the queen
cannot lay eggs and the foragers cannot store food. Other workers search for food,
