Newbury and Vale & Downland Beekeepers' Associations
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There are many species of bees - some solitary, some organised into social groups. The most sophisticated of the social bees is the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Honeybees live in colonies consisting of several thousand individuals, mostly workers, which are sterile females. The bees build combs of beeswax, in which they store honey and pollen, and in which also they rear their young. Each colony has a single queen - a fully developed female - who lays the eggs from which all the workers, the drones (males) and eventually her successor will emerge.
A student beekeeper examining a comb taken from a hive.
Stings and protective clothing
The long evolution of the honeybee has given it an effective means for defending its stores of honey and its young - the sting! All worker bees have a sting, but use it only when provoked - they usually die in the process. Queen bees have a sting for a specialised use - fighting rival queens. Drones have no sting.
Beekeeping involves opening up hives to look at the conditions inside. This may provoke the bees so it is necessary to wear protective clothing to avoid getting stung as far as possible. A veil covers the face, gauntlets cover the hands, boots protect the feet and thick overalls or equivalent clothing cover the rest of the body. Lady beekeepers should note that a skirt is not suitable clothing in an apiary - when bees land on one's legs they tend to crawl upwards. The solution to this is to wear thick trousers tucked into boots.