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• Honeybee

Apis mellifera

Honey bees are found worldwide. They get their name from the honey they produce and have a large roll as pollinators. They are frequently maintained by beekeepers for the purpose of honey production and pollination.

Honey bees are identified by their golden to orange-brown color and dense pale colored hairs covering their body and eyes. Adult workers body length is about 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch. Queens are slightly larger, about 5/8 inch to 3/4 inch long. Drones (or males) are more robust and reach about 5/8 inches long, but do not have stingers. There is only one egg laying queen in the hive. She only mates once and can lay as many as 1500-2000 eggs per day, having the ability to select which eggs are fertilized to produce queens and workers.

Worker bees produce what is called "royal jelly". This substance is fed to larvae; for those that will not become queens, they are fed the royal jelly for only a short period of time before switching to honey and pollen. Those that continue to feed on the royal jelly will eventually become queens.

Colonies are not established by a solitary queen, but rather by groups known as "swarms". Swarms consist of a mated queen and a large number of worker bees. When the colony becomes too large for the existing nesting site, worker bees scout ahead for a nesting site (or hive). New queens will remain at the original hive, while the old queen will leave with a large number of workers. These swarms typically move to a temporary site and remain for 24-48 hours while a permanent location is found. Once the swarm arrives at the new site they begin to construct a new wax comb and being raising new workers. Mature colonies contain 20,000 to 80,000 individuals. Hives are generally found in hollowed areas sheltered from weather such as hollow trees, wall voids, attics, etc. The entire population of honey bees over-winters. Queens can live up to 5 years. Workers only live 5 to 7 weeks with the exception of those emerging in autumn, which will over-winter with the rest of the colony. Drones usually live only a few weeks.

Honey bee queens and workers have a barbed stinger. The stinger is pulled from the body of the bee when a victim has been stung and results in death of the bee. In addition, the stinger gives off a pheromone which attracts other bees and can induce an alarm and attack behavior. However, honey bees are generally very docile and not likely to sting unless a hive or bee is threatened.

In recent years, honey bee colonies have been in rapid decline. Scientists are not certain why, possibly a variety of factors including but not limited to parasites, poor nutrition, stress in adult bees, and a lack of genetic diversity and lineage. Because of this, we suggest when possible, contacting a bee keeper in your area to collect the swarm for research. This is best done when the bees are swarming and more difficult if a nest or hive has already been established.

A call to Long Pest Control can develop an Integrated Pest Control program to eliminate the sightings and provide an environment free of unwanted pests year round. Bee keeper information for your area may also be available.