Courtesy of S am Droege, USDS

Extreme close-up of a worker bees head. Note the bees

tongue is extended.

Courtesy of Daniel C aron, www.naturenomad.com

Beekeeper David Wright holds a branch containing a nice swarm thats ready
to put into a new hive. Honey bees are remarkably gentle during swarming
an ive ease.
Courtesy of S am Droege, USDS

This uber-close image

shows in detail the
anatomy of a worker
(left) and a drone
(right). Note the
drones huge eyes and
larger body.

Confirm American foulbrood by inserting a toothpick

or wooden match into a capped cell. If you note a
ropy, gooey mass as you slowly withdraw the stick,
you have good reason to believe your colony has AFB.

Courtesy of Virginia Williams, USDA-ARS

Courtesy of Rob Snyder at Bee Informed Partnership

The spotty brood pattern

and the sunken, perforated
cappings are reasons to
suspect American foulbrood.
 Courtesy of Rob Snyder at Bee Informed Partnership
This brown, shriveled larvae at the bottom of its
cell is the result of European foulbrood.

Varroa mites are visible to the

naked eye. Note the Varroa on
this worker bee.
Courtesy of Stephen A usmus, USDA-ARS

These hard, chalky, mummified pupae indicate

chalkbrood disease in this hive.
Courtesy of Jeff Pettis, USDA-ARS
Courtesy of A lex Wild

When the larvae of the small

hive beetle hatch, they tunnel
through combs, feeding on
pollen, honey, and brood
and defecating, causing
fermentation and leading to
whats called a slime out,
as you can see from this slimy
image.

This remarkable close-up photo illustrates the visual

differences between a worker (top), queen (middle), and
drone (bottom).

Courtesy of A lex Wild

Wax moths can destroy

honeycomb in a weak hive,
leaving a hopeless, webby
mess for the beekeeper. This
Courtesy of Miranda Sherman

frame is a goner.
 Courtesy of Edward Ross
Honey bees gather pollen
and store it in pollen baskets
located on their hind legs.
Pollen is used by bees as a
protein food.

Honeys not the only food you can get from your bees. Try
your hand at brewing mead (honey wine). Delicious!
Courtesy of Howland Blackiston

These two workers share

nectar. This form of
socialization helps bees
communicate the type of food
sources available for foraging.
Courtesy of Edward Ross
Courtesy of Edward Ross

Foraging worker bees gather water from a

leaky water spigot. The bees use water to
cool the hive and dilute honey.

Thats pollen in these cells. The color of the

pollen depends upon the flowers from which
it originates. In time, you will be able to
identify the plants your bees are visiting by
the color of the pollen they deposit in the cells.

Courtesy of John Clayton

You will soon discover that honey bees are
gentle creatures. This beekeeper is hand
feeding a drop of sugar syrup to one of his
girls.
Courtesy of Sharon Stiteler

After grafting larvae into the queen cups,

the bees build queen cells; youll soon have
Photo by Lynda R ichardson, Corbis

a whole lot of queens underway. Be sure to

add a protector around each cell before the
queens start emerging.
 Photo by Dave Stobbe, Corbis
Beekeeping is a great hobby for the entire
family. By all means, get the little ones
involved. All that energy will come in handy
come bottling season.
Photo by Dave Stobbe, Corbis

You can turn queen rearing into a nice little

business. Local beekeepers will be eager to find a

Photo by Lynda R ichardson, Corbis

local source for strong, healthy, productive queens.
These queens are caged and ready for sale.

A beautiful frame of capped brood. Note the

tight brood pattern with capped honey in
the upper third of the frame.
Courtesy of USDA-ARS
Courtesy of Edward Ross

These young worker bees are just emerging from

their cells. Note the soft, downy fur on these
youngsters.

These two peanut-shaped cells contain

developing queens.

Courtesy of Edward Ross

You can really see the huge wrap-around eyes on this young
drone that is emerging from his cell.
Courtesy of Edward Ross