Glossary - The Backyard Beekeeper - page 246

Nectar —a sweet liquid secreted by the nectaries of plants to attract insects.
Nosema —A digestive disease of honey bees, treated with Fumigillin.
Nuc or Nucleus (plural, nuclei) —a small, two- to five-frame hive used primarily for
starting new colonies.
Nurse bees —young bees, three to ten days old, that feed and take care of developing
brood.
Ocellus —simple eyes (3) on top of a honey bee's head. Used primarily as light sensors.
Package bees —screened shipping cage containing three pounds of bees, usually a
queen, and food.
PDB (paradichlorobenzene) —crystals used as a last resort as a fumigant to protect
stored drawn combs against wax moth.
Pesticides —the general name for chemicals used to kill pests of many varieties. Subcat-
egories of pesticides are insecticides (which kill bees) and fungicides (which kill fungi,
but can also be detrimental to honey bees). Combinations of insecticides and fungicides
can be extremely deadly to foraging honey bees.
Pheromone —a chemical secreted by one bee that stimulates behavior in another bee.
The best known bee pheromone is queen substance secreted by queens that regulate
many behaviors in the hive.
Pollen —the male reproductive cells produced by flowers, used by honey bees as their
source of protein.
Pollen basket —a flattened area on the outer surface of a worker bee's hind legs with
curved spines used for carrying pollen or propolis to the hive.
Pollen trap —a mechanical device used to remove pollen loads from the pollen baskets
of returning bees.
Pollination —the transfer of pollen from the anthers to the stigma of flowers.
Proboscis —the mouth parts of the bee that form the sucking tube and tongue.