The structure of a honeybee colony

The structure of a honeybee colony basically has 3 main types of bees

Honeybees are often called hardworking bees because they are always very industrious to work. There is also a clear division of duties in terms of work and role in maintaining the development of the swarm. The component of the swarm is three types of bees: queen bees, worker bees, and drones.

Queen

The queen bee is the largest, always unique, and holds the greatest power in a colony.

In terms of formation, the queen is the bee that is raised in the best conditions with the richest and most nutritious food that people often call royal jelly it is the milk to feeds the queen. Due to the special food source, queen bees have a relatively high life expectancy, a minimum of 2 years,  usually from 3 to 5 years.

The main task of the queen in the honey bee colony is to reproduce and maintain the breed of the bee colony as well as to manage the work of the entire bee colony.

Drone

Drones are born from queen bees but that egg is not fertilized so it will also hatch into male bees. This is a different obvious feature of bees compared to other animals. With other creatures or insects, the unfertilized egg will be spoiled and not hatch into offspring.

Drones do not do the role of finding food to bring back to the hive like worker bees, but drones only do the only role which is to mate with the queen to maintain the breed and fertilized bee eggs will hatch female bees.

The longevity of male bees is the lowest because after mating with the queen, the male bee's penis has been separated from the main body so that the drone usually dies soon after fertilization with the queen.

Each type of bee in the hive has its role

Worker bee

Worker bees are essential in providing food and nourishing strength for the whole colony. In essence, worker bees are also female bees but not specially raised like queen bees, so worker bees have only 2/3 the size of queen bees.

The main task of worker bees is to collect nectar, pollen, and secrete royal jelly to feed the queen bee, while also building and protecting the beehive and caring for the bee larvae. Therefore, among the bees in a colony, worker bees make up the highest number.

The worker bee is a female, but the ovaries do not develop and cannot reproduce. They will be divided according to their age as follows:

• From 1 to 3 days old: Newly born worker bees only stay in the nest to do the task of insulation, similar to ventilation fans and air conditioning suitable in the hive.
• From 3 to 10 days old: At this age, the milk lymph nodes of bees are very developed, bees eat honey and pollen to create milk to feed young larvae and raise queen bees. This is royal jelly.
• From 10 to 20 days old: During this age, the wax ganglia develops, the worker bees will do the task of building a hive and going out to fly, identifying the honeycomb door to prepare to work outside, and they also do the task of collecting nectar.
• From 20 days old: This is the stage when bees have grown up and go to get nectar and pollen, while in old age they are responsible for guarding the nest, until near death, they fly away from the nest and die. The life expectancy of worker bees is only from 30 to a maximum of 50 days. 

In addition to the queen bee, the male bee, and the worker bee, there are also bee larvae located in the cells of the honeycomb. We see eggs and many milk-white larvae, and the cells are sealed until the bee larvae develop into honeybees and are divided into suitable jobs.

Standards of a good breed of bees

What is the standard of a good and healthy bee colony?

A healthy bee colony will give high honey productivity and good honey quality, and at the same time be less sick, so it will bring beekeepers many benefits such as cost savings, increased profits, etc. Usually, a good bee colony will have the following criteria:

• Observe the outside of the beehive: If you see a worker bee flying back and forth, among the flying bees returning to the nest, there are many bees packing pollen on their hind legs, which means that the bees are making a lot of effort to make honey. If outside the nest, many bees are flying around the nest but still bring pollen on the back legs, the hive is likely full and then it is possible to harvest honey.
• Look up at the comb frame: A good hive will be very crowded, flying over, and will not even see the cells of the honeycomb.
• Smoking to drive bees: You will easily notice that on the cell there are all stages of development, such as many eggs, many larvae or full pupae, and honey sealing.
• Queen bee: Has the largest size, fat, large belly, and long body. Worker bees are large, fat, and young (light-colored), while male bees have none or very few.
• Comb frame: square, covered over a frame, including all worker bee cells and light yellow. In particular, you do not see any traces of disease or European foulbrood.

How  to choose healthy bees, and create good honey

However, choosing a breeding colony is not simple, you need to find a reputable, high-quality bee supplier that has many years of experience in the industry.

How to choose quality, healthy, and honeyed bees

Currently,  there are two main types of bees: native bees and Italian bees. Native bees are honeybees with few diseases and are easy to raise but with low honey output, while Italian bee breeds are imported bees capable of producing high honey output by bulk beekeeping models.

Most honeybee areas now choose the Italian bee breed because this bee breed can withstand sudden weather changes like in Vietnam. At the same time, bees are also less likely to get sick and have a great ability to produce honey.

Moreover, Italian bees have gentle characteristics with rarely stings human. Unless someone destroys the hive, crushing the bee itself, the bee will sting because of natural reactions to protect the hive. Even more, they are loyal to the queen bee, so they never leave the hive and fly away, so you do not need to worry that they will leave.

A basic bee colony must have a full generation of worker bees, eggs, and bee larvae

A basic bee colony must have a full generation of worker bees, eggs, and bee larvae. The honeybee must cover the top of the hive in the morning. Based on the ratio of eggs and larvae, pupae can assess the quality of bee colonies. According to the number of days of the age of bee eggs, larvae, and pupae of worker bees, the most suitable rate is 1 part eggs – 2 parts larvae - 4 parts pupae. This is considered to be the stability of a honeybee colony. If there is an imbalance of one of these ratios, the bees will try to reproduce to return to biological balance.

When choosing a bee colony, you need to make sure the colony has a clear origin. Choose yellow honey bees and avoid those that are black because they will give less honey.

You should choose a colony of bees with queen bees under six months old and not diseased. Worker bees cover the whole two frame slides; a new honeycomb and yellow color; is full of eggs, larvae, and pupae; honey and pollen are reserved. At the same time, the box and frame strictly follow the standard of size.

The technique of the queen bee's creation

The purpose of queen creation is to multiply the number of bees and replace the old queen or the queen of the sick colony to ensure that the bee colony always has a stable and strong structure. The three most effective techniques are being applied by many beekeeping units:

There are 3 most effective techniques of creating gods that are being applied by many beekeeping units

Use the queen cell to split the hive naturally

Choose honeybee colonies that are thriving, and feed them 2-3 nights with sugar water ( in a ratio of 1:1), support more comb frames that have old pupae, and withdraw old frames for bees to gather more. When this is done, the bees will build more queen cells earlier to prepare to split the hive.

When choosing a queen cell, you should pay attention to choosing a queen with a long and straight body, brown, and beautiful to breed. When the queen cell is old, use a sharp knife to cut on the base of the cell 1.5cm and then put it in the new hive.

Creating queen bees using the grafting method

First, choose strong developing bees as breeding stock. Take the freshly laid queen bee eggs and use a grafting tool to transfer them into queen cups located in areas with young larvae. It's better to select newly built comb cells to facilitate acceptance by the young bees.

Creating queen bee colonies through swarming

Isolate a healthy and disease-free queen bee from a strong colony. After 2 hours, transfer 1-day-old larvae to queen cells placed in comb cups attached to the bars of a queen-rearing hive that contains bees from the selected colony. Allow the bees to feed the larvae for an additional 3 - 4 days, then remove the grafting bars after 2 days.

Around 9 - 10 days later, the newly developed queen cells can be used. Attach these queen cells to newly divided bee colonies or colonies with old queens that need replacement. About 10 - 12 days after introducing the new queen cells, the new queens will start laying eggs. If any of the queen cells are damaged or lost, it is necessary to introduce another queen cell or reintroduce a colony to ensure the strong development of the bee colony.

Technique for dividing honeybee colonies after creating queen bees

Colonies with 7 or more honeybee frames can be divided. Incorrect division techniques can lead to bee deaths and harm to the queen bee and worker bees. Hence, it is essential to pay attention to the technique for dividing honeybee colonies after successfully creating queen bees.

Technique for dividing honeybee colonies after creating queen bees

Take 2 honey frames along with 1 honey frame containing brood (9 –> 12, 18 –> 21) and place them in a new hive that is not placed on the flight path. Choose a colony with a large number of young bees and gently shake all of these bees into the new hive (which already contains the 2 honey frames and one brood frame). Then, close the hive to confine the bees.

Around 5 p.m., allow the older bees to return to the hive, and take the new queen cell from the 11th day of queen creation (for the double grafting method) or from the 10th day if using the single grafting method (meaning grafting onto one cell only). Carefully cut away all the queen cells from the comb (be very gentle and continuous in your movements to prevent the queen cells from being damaged).

Next, attach the queen cell to the upper part of the honey frame. Keep the hive closed until the next day before opening it again (secure the entrance with a small gap of about 2cm to allow honeybees to enter and prevent robbing).

Prevention and treatment of some common bee diseases

Normally, honeybee colonies are susceptible to the two most common diseases, which are European Foulbrood and Larval Sacbrood.

Prevention and treatment of some common bee diseases

European Foulbrood

The primary cause of European Foulbrood in honeybees is the bacteria that infect the bee larvae at around 3 - 5 days old. The symptoms of this disease are easy to recognize:

• Infected larvae change from a milky white color to a cloudy white and eventually become darker.
• Diseased bee larvae appear disheveled, soft, and later die and rot. In severe cases, the hive emits a sour odor.
• The majority of bees in the hive are old and dark, as the affected larvae cannot develop into young bees.

To prevent this disease in honeybee colonies, beekeepers must ensure that bees have enough food (pollen and nectar) and maintain a warm hive environment, covering the frames with worker bees.

Treatment for European Foulbrood in honeybee colonies:

• Dissolve 1 gram (1 vial) of Streptomycin in 2 liters of sugar water and use it for 20 frames/1 evening. Continue feeding the bees for 3 consecutive evenings.
• Dissolve 1 gram of Neomycin in 2 liters of sugar water and use it for 20 frames/1 evening. Continue feeding the bees for 3 consecutive evenings.
• Dissolve 1 gram of Kanamycin in 2 liters of sugar water and use it for 20 frames/1 evening. Continue feeding the bees for 3 consecutive evenings.
• Mix Streptomycin with a dose of 1 gram in 3 liters of sugar water and use it for 30 frames/1 evening. Feed the bees for 3 consecutive evenings.

Additionally, it is possible to use a spraying method, spraying a small amount every two days to avoid disturbing the hive and causing the bees to fly away. Pay attention to spraying the solution diagonally onto the frames and the worker bees. Before treating the disease, beekeepers should remove the infected frames to ensure effective treatment for the bees.

Larval Sacbrood 

This disease is more common in worker bees than in drones. The main agents causing this disease are viruses from two strains, one is the Thai virus, which affects bees in the southern region, and the other is the Chinese virus, which affects honeybees in the northern region.

The signs of the disease in bee colonies are as follows:

• Entire bodies of infected bee larvae are deformed like a sac, with a pointed top and a transparent fluid at the bottom, slightly yellowish in color.
• The infected bee larvae die without a sour odor.

Prevention of this disease is simple, and beekeepers need to ensure a healthy and robust queen, rapid population growth in the hive, and the frames must be fully covered.

Treatment for Larval Sacbrood in honeybee colonies cannot be done with antibiotics, as they are ineffective. Instead, it can only be treated using biological methods, as follows:

• Replace the old queen with a healthy new queen or confine the queen for 7 to 10 days to interrupt the process of the queen's egg-laying and larval development.
• Remove frames heavily infested with diseased larvae. If the colony is weak, combine it with other weak colonies.
• Feed the bees continuously for about 3 - 4 days or move the affected hive to a new location with a fresh source of flowers.

Dealing with the natural swarming of honeybees

The phenomenon of honeybees naturally swarming and dividing their colonies can occur frequently in beekeeping areas in the northern region of Vietnam, typically around March-April, and occasionally in October-November. In the southern region, honeybees tend to swarm and divide their colonies more often around October-November and February-April (early and mid-honey season).

Dealing with the natural swarming of honeybees

When there are abundant food sources such as nectar and pollen in the environment, along with a favorable climate, a strong population of worker bees, a prolific queen, and a large number of brood cells, as well as surplus food reserves, the bee colony may naturally swarm and divide. This natural swarming behavior occurs when the bees feel overcrowded in their hive and decide to create new colonies by leaving with a new queen to establish a new nest.

• If the bee colony is weak: Beekeepers can address the swarming by replacing the old queen bee with a healthier one during a period of abundant nectar and pollen sources. Additionally, adding extra frames and rotating the honey frames regularly or transferring honey frames to another colony with sufficient space can help reduce the swarming tendency. Also, it's essential to remove drone combs.
• For strong colonies, beekeepers should proactively split the colonies: Ensure the bees have enough food, and select long queen cells in empty positions, like in the two corners and below the honeycomb frames, to use them for the new colony. Keep only the best queen cell in the original colony and remove all other queen cells.

Swarming can lead to reduced honey production and weaken the bee colony

• Principles of colony integration: When integrating colonies, it is important to do it in the evening, from a colony without a queen to a colony with a queen. Introducing weaker colonies to stronger ones or merging colonies with a large number of worker bees is recommended.
• Methods of colony integration: You can indirectly integrate colonies by removing or separating the queen from the colony to be introduced before 6 p.m. In the evening, put the designated combs outside the existing colony. The next morning, remove the barrier, allowing the bees to settle in the new colony. Alternatively, you can directly integrate the colonies by moving the barrier away in the evening and gently placing the bees from the old colony on the new one, leaving only the young bees behind.

Above is our sharing about the techniques for selecting good breeding bees. We hope that it has helped you grasp useful information to maintain healthy colonies and ensure high honey production with the best quality.