Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Two views of a typical hollow tree cavity showing the arrangement of honey, pollen, and
broodnest. Queen cells are produced on the very bottom of the broodnest, where the
wax is the newest.
The queen lays eggs in the broodnest. You can see them in the bottoms of these cells.
A typical broodnest frame has honey at the top and brood in the center. Between the
brood and the honey is a narrow band of pollen.
At the end of the growing season, when brood rearing slows or ceases and nectar and
pollen are no longer available, the living arrangement changes. Without a large brood
area to protect and keep warm, the bees stay close to the larger mass of stored honey
above and to the sides of the broodnest. They continue to move in the nest until they
run out of food (and subsequently starve) or until nectar and pollen again are available.
During this time, the queen may continue to lay eggs, but she tends to follow the
cluster of bees as they move up the nest. If she ceases laying, she stays with the cluster.
If the nonproductive season is not severe, the broodnest remains in its original location,
because food is easily obtained.
Understanding this pattern of movement and how the bees construct their nest is im-
portant in managing a colony over the seasons. Anticipating what the bees are going to
do allows you to prepare adequate space for them to move into. Replacing the combs of
the broodnest after three or four years of use is encouraged to provide brood and young
bees with new, clean wax.
