Honey Bees, Beekeeping and Bee Products
Honey Bees, Beekeeping and Bee Products
English | 2024 | ISBN: 103240650X | 224 Pages | PDF (True) | 11.4 MB
English | 2024 | ISBN: 103240650X | 224 Pages | PDF (True) | 11.4 MB
Honey bees are social insects; they live together in large, well-organized family groups comprising three castes: queen (fertile female), workers (sterile females) and drones (males). During honey flow season, there is a considerable increase in the foraging activity of the workers and in the rate of egg laying by the queen. Sex determination in honey bees involves a multi-allelic locus, such that homozygotes develop as males and heterozygotes as females, whereas diet quality influences the caste determination in honey bees. Like all living organisms, honey bees can be infested with diseases and pests. Some of these are more deleterious to bee colonies than others, but it is important for the beekeeper to be able to recognize conditions that might be disease or pest-related and respond accordingly so as to improve the quality of honey and honey bee by-products.