Beekeeping Glossary

Beekeeping terms, explained briefly and with sources.

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Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV) Krankheiten The Acute Bee Paralysis Virus, ABPV for short, belongs to a group of closely related viruses that are present latently in many colonies.
Alarm Pheromone Lexikon When a bee stings, it releases an alarm pheromone at the base of its sting and from its mandibular glands, a chemically complex mixture of several dozen scent compounds.
American Foulbrood Krankheiten American Foulbrood is a bacterial brood disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae.
Amitraz Behandlungsmittel Amitraz belongs to the substance group of triazapentadienes and, like many antiparasitics, originates from crop protection.
Amoeba Dysentery Krankheiten Amoeba dysentery is caused by the single-celled organism Malpighamoeba mellificae.
Api-Bioxal Behandlungsmittel Api-Bioxal is an oxalic-acid-based veterinary medicinal product from an Italian manufacturer.
Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) Krankheiten The Asian hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax is an introduced species that has been spreading in Germany since it was first detected near Karlsruhe in 2014.

Baker's Honey Lexikon Under the Honey Regulation (Germany), baker's honey is honey suitable for industrial purposes or as an ingredient in other foods, which may show a foreign taste or smell, may have begun to ferment, may have fermented, or may have been overheated.
Bee Brush Lexikon The bee brush is a narrow, soft hand brush used to sweep bees off a comb or off the hive wall.
Bottling Honey Lexikon Bottling is the last step of honey processing, in which the fully clarified honey, stirred to the desired consistency, goes into its sales jars.
Brood Rearing Declines Verhalten der Bienen With shorter days and a declining nectar flow, the queen throttles her laying step by step.

Division of Labor by Age Verhalten der Bienen A worker changes tasks over the course of her life.
Drone Frame Lexikon The drone frame (Baurahmen) is an empty frame without foundation, which the bees build out themselves through free natural comb building.

Formic Acid Lexikon Formic acid is an organic acid and one of the approved active ingredients against varroosis.
Formic Acid 60% Behandlungsmittel Formic acid in a 60% preparation is the classic remedy for summer treatment of production colonies.
Formic Acid 85% Behandlungsmittel Formic acid in an 85% preparation contains the same active substance as the 60% solution but is considerably more concentrated.

Infestation Level Lexikon The infestation level describes how heavily a colony is affected by the varroa mite at a given point in time, usually expressed as the ratio of the number of mites to the number of sampled bees, or as the daily natural mite drop.
Inserting the Drone Frame Arbeiten am Bienenstand An empty frame at the edge of the brood nest gives the colony a chance to work off its building urge.
Inserting the Queen Excluder Arbeiten am Bienenstand The queen excluder sits between the top brood box and the honey super.

Mating Flight Verhalten der Bienen About five to ten days after emerging, the young queen flies to the drone congregation areas on warm, still afternoons.

Nucleus Colony (Nuc) Lexikon A nucleus colony (Ableger) is a small young colony that the beekeeper forms from the material of a strong production colony.
Nurse Bee Lexikon A young worker bee that tends the brood from about the fourth day of life until the tenth or twelfth day.
Nurse Bees Verhalten der Bienen Nurse bees feed the brood. They are on duty roughly from the fourth to the tenth or twelfth day of life.

Queen Excluder Lexikon The queen excluder is a grid made of metal or plastic that is placed between the brood chamber and the honey super.

Registration Requirement for Beekeepers Lexikon Anyone wishing to keep bees in Germany must report this to the responsible authority no later than when the activity begins, stating the number of bee colonies and their location.
Removing Old Combs Arbeiten am Bienenstand Combs are consumable material. With every brood cycle, cocoon residue is left behind, the cells become narrower, and residues and disease pathogens accumulate in the wax.

Skimming Honey Lexikon After extraction the honey runs through a sieve into the bucket and is left to stand there, covered, for a few hours.
Sulfuring Lexikon Sulfuring refers to killing an entire honey bee colony by burning sulfur inside the hive.

Trap Comb Lexikon The trap comb, sometimes also called a comb pocket or cage, is a tool of biotechnical, i.e.
Trap Comb Method Arbeiten am Bienenstand The queen is confined in a comb cage whose side faces are made of queen excluder.

Wash Method (Mite Count) Lexikon The wash method, also called the alcohol wash, is regarded as particularly accurate among the common procedures for determining varroa infestation.
Worker Bee Lexikon Worker bees are the female bees that handle the everyday life of the colony.