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Beginner's Page What's on this Page: Beekeeping Definitions Install packages in cold weather Equipment Drawings & Dimensions Feeding Bees With Hard Candy Beekeeping Terms Adulteration:Introducing anything into honey such as high fructose honey without proper labeling. Beeswax: waxy material produced by worker bee and used to build combs. Comb honey: honey produced by bees in small rectangular boxes and sold in this form. It also refers to containers with a piece of comb with extracted liquid honey surrounding it. Drones: male bees. Their main function in the colony is to fertilize the queen. Extracted honey: liquid honey removed from combs and sold in jars or cans. Foundation: thin sheets of beeswax imprinted with the pattern of honey cells by metal rollers when it is processed. These sheets are fastened into frames as "starters" for the bees in making the combs. Frames: the removable wooden structures which are placed in the hive bodies and supers. Bees build their combs within these forms. Racks:Another term used instead of frames. Hive bodies: First two boxes placed on the bottom board. Generally refer to full deep boxes. The hive bodies will contain the brood nest of the colony. Larva:grub-like, immature form of the bee, after it has developed from the egg and before it has gone into the resting stage in preparation for the change to adult form. Nectar: sweet fluid produced by flowers and converted into honey by honeybees Pollen: very small dust-like grains produced by flowers. These are the male germ cells of the plant. Propolis: brownish gum gathered by bees from trees and buds. They use it to close openings in the hive. Pupa: immature form of bee during the resting stage while changing to the adult form Queen: completely developed female who lays eggs and rules the colony Royal jelly: milky white secretion of young nurse bees that is fed to queen larvae throughout their lives, and to worker and drone larvae only during their early larval lives Super: supplementary boxes placed on top of the hive body for storage of surplus honey. Can be deep or shallow boxes. Supersedure: when a colony with an old or failing queen rears a daughter to replace her Trachael Mites:Microscopic mites that reside in the tracheal tubes of adult honeybees. Infected bees often can not fly. If not controlled, can be fatal to the hive. Varroa Mites:External mites that feed off the adult bees and pupae in the combs. Often spread various viruses and if untreated can be fatal to the colony. Workers: incompletely developed female bees that do not normally lay eggs. They gather nectar and convert it into honey and take care of the immature bees Return to Top of Page Feeding Bees With Hard Candy The hard candy method is more work but reduces moisture problems associated with syrup feeding during cold weather. Preparing the candy Ingredients: 12 pounds table sugar; 1 1/2 pounds honey; 1 1/4 quarts water; 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. Heat the water while adding the sugar and honey. Stir continuously until the mixture is liquid. Remove the spoon; do not stir, but continue to heat the mixture. Heat the boiling mixture to 238 F. Do not stir while cooking. When the temperature reaches 238 F, remove from the heat source and add the cream of tartar. Cool the mixture to 125 F and Stir vigorously until the mixture becomes cloudy white. Pour the mixture into a rectangular cake pan or candy feeder box. Candy molded in cake pan can be wrapped in wax paper and placed in the hive. A candy feed box can be constructed from a piece of one-half inch plywood the size of an inner cover. A 1 ½-inch rail is nailed around the perimeter of the plywood to make a tray. Nail 12 roofing nails into the inside bottom of the plywood tray to anchor the candy after it hardens. Place the tray, candy-side down, over the bees. Cover the tray with the inner and outer covers. RETURN TO HOME PAGE