Bees!

1. Bees! An Instructional PowerPoint by Ryan Wynkoop

2. Welcome to the Bees! Instructional Slideshow! This presentation will teach you about the history, life and importance of honeybees. To advance through the presentation click the honeybee to go back, click the flower icon Go ahead, try it!

3. Who Are They? There are 6 recognized important honeybee species. We are most concerned with Apis mellifera particularly carnica, the Carniolan and ligustica, the Italian. The Italian is most widely used in the United States. The genus Apis is Latin for “bee.” Melliferais Greek and is derived from meli- “honey” and ferre“to carry.

4. The genus Apis is Latin for “bee.” Melliferais Greek and is derived from meli- “honey” and ferre“to carry. Apishas been around for about 40 million years, give or take a few days. We know this because one of its ancestors happened to be in wrong place at the right time and was encased in amber much like this mosquito. Archaeologists have also found fossilized bee hives.

5. It is possible that honeybees originated somewhere in Asia. This is where the greatest amount of diversity in bees is located which supports this claim. Apis mellifera spread from Asia to Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe. Humans had interaction with honeybees as early as 6,000 years ago. Paintings of honeybees were found on cave walls in Spain. Eventually, thanks to humans, this bee made its way to North America.

6. Europe North America ASIA Africa

7. Bees have been around a long time. Even back to the 1960s!

8. Why Are They So Important? Zeus’s beard I love honey! Honeybees were very important to many of our ancestors. Honey is full of sugarswhich served as a form of energy for them. Honey was particularly important to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. They used honey for everything from medicine to drinks. The Greeks called honey “nectar of the gods.”

9. Gimme Some Sugar! Sugars are categorized as simple or complex. Simple sugars, called monosaccharides, are glucose, fructose, galactose and mannose. Complex sugars are disaccharides. They are sucrose (glucose + fructose), galactose (glucose + galactose), and maltose (glucose + glucose). These are the sugars which contain the most energy and were an important source of energy.

10. The Bee Family! Bees have a family of sorts just like ours! Each member has a specific task which keeps the hive in stable working order. Let’s meet the family!

11. The Queen bee is like the mom of the hive. She is the only bee that lays eggs. She also produces hormones that keep the hive in good working order and give the other bees signals pertaining to what needs to be done. There is only one Queen bee per hive. If another queen were introduced the other queen would kill her. She also has a group of bees, which follow her and take care of her, called a retinue. The Queen Distinguishing features: -Nearly 50% larger than worker bees -Abdomen is much longer than other bees’

12. The Drone The Drone bee is like the dad of the hive. Drones arise from unfertilized eggs from the queen. Drones are males and are the only bees other than the queen with reproductive capabilities. They are responsible for fertilizing the queen so she can lay more larvae. • Distinguishing characteristics: • Eyes are large and meet at the top of the head • Cannot sting and they die after mating • Generally stay in the hive until they leave to mate

13. The worker bee is somewhat like the child of the family. They have chores like cleaning their hive and foraging for food. They are the major reason for the hive’s existence. Without them there would be no nectar for honey, no pollen, the hive would be a mess and larvae would not be fed. Workers are female and arise from fertilized eggs. They can sting but die soon after. The Worker • Distinguishing characteristics: • They are most numerous so they are easiest to find • They are the smallest bees in the hive and can be seen everywhere.

14. Performance Opportunity! Following are a few questions about the material you’ve just read. If you want to review go back now because you will not be able to go back during the quiz. Read the question and choose the best answer. After you have chosen the correct answer you will move on to the next section of the presentation. Good luck!

15. Question 1 The most commonly used honeybee in the United States is the: Carniolan Tennesseean Italian Black

16. CORRECT! Next Question

17. Try again!

18. Question 2 Apis mellifera came directly from Africa to North America. True False

19. Correct! Apismelliferacame from somewhere around Asia then made its way to Africa then to Europe and surrounding areas and then to North America. Next Question

20. No, sorry. Try again!

21. Question 3 The most widely used subspecies of Apismellifera used in North America is: A. m. ligustica A. m. carnica A. m. caucasica A. m. is in the morning

22. Correct! Apismelliferaligustica, or the Italian honeybee, is most widely used in North America because it is very gentle. Next Question

23. Incorrect. Try again!

24. Question 4 The drone bee forms from a fertilized egg. True False

25. Correct! Drones arise from unfertilized eggs. Soon after they mate they will die. Next Question

26. Incorrect! Try it again, I know you’ll get it this time!

27. Question 5 Honey is high in ______ which served as a source of energy for our ancestors. Carbohydrates Sugars Math Proteins

28. Correct! Sugars were full of energy and tasted delicious too! This is the end of the quiz! Continue on with the presentation.

29. Not quite! Try again.

30. In the Beginning Initially, our ancestors were just a bunch of thieves stealing honey willy-nilly from the hives bees made in logs and other holes

31. In the Beginning But then we got smart and decided to make the bees come to us. This is a skep. It is one of the first ideas we came up with for a beehive to domesticate bees. They were generally made of coiled rope.

32. This is a Langsroth hive. Probably what you think of when you are awake at night thinking about beekeeping. It was introduced by Rev. L.L. Langstroth in 1851 The Langstroth hive revolutionized beekeeping

33. The Langsrtoth hive has some important aspects which make it great. • It incorporates space between the comb for bees to move • It allows for thicker comb and therefore more honey • The supers are on top which makes honey collection easier • Individual frames allow for quicker • and easier hive inspection

34. So you’ve got the hive and the bees, but what do the honeybees make? There are five products that are important to the bees and humans as well. Let’s take a look at them!

35. Honey • Everyone knows bees make honey. Honey for the bees is used as a food source for larvae but for humans it’s used for a food source. • Honey has some important features: • -It is aseptic which means no bacteria or other nasty things can grow • It is hygroscopic which means it absorbs water • It is acidic. Approximately 3.5-4.5 pH. • Honey is sold in various forms • Extracted- the liquid in the little bear bottle you see in the supermarket • Chunk- Honey in a jar with chunks of comb in it • Comb- honey sold still in the comb • Fermented- honey is allowed to ferment and sold as an alcoholic beverage called honey mead.

36. Propolis Propolis is a gooey sticky substance the bees collect from plants. They use it for various applications in the hive but mainly for holding things down and filling unwanted spaces. You will see this if you ever try to remove frames from a honey super and you have to use a pry bar to get the frame out! Although no wide scale studies have been conducted, people have claimed that propolis can heal burns, reduce inflammation, reduce ulcers, promote heart health and reduce cataracts. It is sold in specialty food and health stores.

37. Pollen Pollen is probably the most important product in the hive. Not only because it is used by the bees for food but because of what they do when collecting it. It has no benefit to humans…at all…whatsoever…nope. Without bees collecting pollen and unknowingly pollinating the plant while they do it we would not have these fruits and vegetables: Blueberries, cucumbers, pumpkins, apples, peaches, strawberries, watermelons, okra, kiwi, peppers, chestnuts, coconuts, figs, cotton, mango, avocado, apricots, cherries, almonds, raspberries, pears, blackberries, eggplants, cranberries, grapes. The American Institute of Biological Sciences reported the native insect pollination (honeybees) saves the United States agricultural economy an estimated $3.1 billion annually through natural crop production.

38. Royal Jelly Royal jelly is produced by the female nurse bees in the hive. It is fed to all larva for about three days but the larva which will be a queen is fed nothing but royal jelly…hence the royal part. It contains a lot of fatty acids and amino acids as well as some B vitamins. Much like propolis and pollen, royal jelly producers claim amazing health benefits, of which many have not been proven. You might be better off sticking with the strawberry jelly…

39. Beeswax Beeswax is probably the other more widely known product of the hive. Wax is produced by the bee in glands called the wax glands located on the underside of the bee. The young worker bees produce scales of wax on their stomach. These scales are removed and packed to make the comb. Humans have found uses for beeswax in candles, makeup, and medicines. We also put it in polishes and use it to cover cheese. Beeswax is very versatile!

40. Performance Opportunity! Following are a few questions about the material you’ve just read. If you want to review go back now because you will not be able to go back during the quiz. Read the question and choose the best answer. After you have chosen the correct answer you will move on to the next section of the presentation. Good luck!

41. Question 1 After the skep, a new revolutionary hive design was developed. Who developed this new hive? A. LL Langstroth B. EM Tiffany C. John Purdue D. Greg Hunt

42. CORRECT! Next question

43. Nope, wrong guy! Try again.

44. Question 2 Which of the following is not a direct result of the Langstroth hive? A. Bee space and thicker comb B. Easier to inspect hive, easier to collect honey C. Less honey production D. A & B

45. CORRECT! Next question

46. No, that is incorrect. Go ahead and try again.

47. Question 3 Honey is aseptic, hygroscopic, and acidic. True False

48. CORRECT! Next question

49. No that’s not right. Try again!

50. Question 4 When bees have a little spot to plug up in the hive or something they need to hold down they use: A. Pollen B. Propolis C. Honey D. Mud