Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the practice of maintaining honeybee colonies in managed hives for honey, pollination, beeswax, and other products.
Honeybee colony: A social group of queen, worker, and drone honeybees that functions as a reproductive unit. Beekeeping manages colonies whose survival depends on coordinated roles and seasonal population changes.
Honey: A sugary substance made by bees from flower nectar or honeydew and stored as food. Beekeepers harvest surplus honey while leaving stores sufficient for colony survival.
Apis mellifera: The western honeybee, a domesticated and widely managed species native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia. Most commercial and hobby beekeeping in the world uses this species.
Colony collapse disorder: A phenomenon in which most adult worker bees disappear from a colony, leaving a queen and food behind. It heightened concern about managed honeybee losses, though it is not a single-cause diagnosis.
Mason bee: A solitary bee in the genus Osmia that nests in small cavities and does not produce surplus honey. It pollinates crops without the social colony structure or hive products of honeybees.
Beehive: A structure in which a honeybee colony lives and raises brood. Managed hives provide the nesting space and removable comb that make routine care possible.
Beeswax: A wax produced by worker honeybees and used to build honeycomb. Comb removed or replaced during hive management can be rendered into beeswax products.
Bee communication: The signals bees use to coordinate activities, including dances, odors, vibrations, and sounds. Communication helps colonies allocate foragers and maintain social organization.
Varroa destructor: A parasitic mite that reproduces on honeybee brood and transmits viruses. Its spread has become a major cause of colony decline and a central management challenge.
Bumblebee: A robust social bee in the genus Bombus that forms annual colonies and pollinates many plants. Bumblebees differ in colony life cycle and are sometimes managed for greenhouse pollination.