Nomenclature. David E. MacFawn Master Craftsman Beekeeper SCBA Aiken Journeyman Class Saturday, April 23, 2016

Transcription

1 Nomenclature David E. MacFawn Master Craftsman Beekeeper SCBA Aiken Journeyman Class Saturday, April 23, 216

2 Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus ( ) The Father of Taxonomy Linnaeus desired to name all insects Trained as MD; a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist. Developed the early stages of ranking and classifying organisms as used today

3 Carl Linnaeus ( )

4 Linnaeus s Scientific Thought Developed the binomial nomenclature Binomial = two names (Apis mellifera) Nomen (name) clature (what is its name)

5 Classification This is how Linnaeus method has evolved. Kingdom = Animalia (animals) Phylum = Arthropoda (Arthropods) (jointed foot) Class = Insecta (insects) Order = Hymenoptera (membranous wing) Family = Apidae (long-tongued bees) Genus = Apis Species: mellifera (honey-bearing) Source: Wepidia

6 Honey Bee Species of Interest There are four species (lots more available) of honey bees that we are interested in. {note Apis with caps, mellifera small letter.} Apis (Genus) mellifera (Species); (western honey bee) Apis florea; the small bee ; southern and southeastern Asia Apis cerana, the eastern bee ; southern and southeastern Asia, including China, Pakistan, India, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Apis dorsata, the giant honey bee; South and Southeast Asia Hive and the honeybee

7 Honey Bee Species & Races Species: Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera Races: Apis mellifera mellifera German Apis mellifera ligustica Italian Apis mellifera carnica Carniolan Apis mellifera caucasica - Caucasian Apis mellifera scutella - African

8 Location of Honey bees

9 European Races

10 Apis mellifera mellifera- German (Genus) (Species) (Race) Originates in Britain, Ireland, Northern and Central Europe. German bee Jet Black to Dark brown. This race of bees is known to be very aggressive and therefore the mid to late 18 s began to be phased out.

11 Mellifera (German) Limitations Susceptible to most brood diseases Quite defensive Short tongue Merits First stock to be imported to America Beautiful white cappings on honey comb Good overwintering ability

12 Apis mellifera ligustica (Italians) Homeland: Italy and the Mediterranean This is the Western Honeybee that has replaced German bee in the Americas starting in the 185 s. This race is known to be gentle, with yellow markings Prolific layers and colony build up quickly, good producers BUT: Maintain large populations year round, Rob, Drift between hives, eat up stores rapidly in winter months.

13 Itialians (Ligustica) Merits Less defensive and prone to disease than German stock Lighter in color Strong brood rearing Good housekeepers Good honey production Limitations Rear lots of brood outside of honey flows, consuming excess food Bad robbing

14 Apis mellifera carnica (Carniolan bee) A subspecies {race} originating in the Balkan peninsular (Austria, Hungry, Bulgaria to Bosnia and Serbia) Introduced into US during the last part of the 19th century Smaller in size, lots of hair Overwinters with smaller numbers Uses less store Builds up rapidly in spring, very gentle Quick to swarm (because of quick build up) Swarming makes them more difficult to manage.

15 Carniolan (Carnica) Merits Exceptionally docile Explosive early spring buildup Decrease brood rearing in dearths Limitations Excess propensity to swarm Not a very good comb builder

16 Apis mellifera caucasian Originates in the Caucasus region; the mountain range diving south eastern Europe from Asia. Imported during the last part of the 19th century. Very gentle, grey in color because of the copious hair Good producer BUT slow to build up in the spring and do not fair well in cool damp climates.

17 Caucasian (Caucasia) Merits Longest tongue of any other race Extremely gentle Limitations Very low spring buildup Susceptible to EFB and nosema Copious amounts of propolis

18 Other Stocks Minnesota Hygienic VSH / SMR

19 Minnesota Hygienic Reduced Clinical symptoms of American foulbrood or chalkbrood have significantly fewer Varroa mites compared to unselected colonies good honey producer, and is gentle and easy to manage. certify a trait, hygienic behavior. Not concerned with the type or pedigree of bees selected for hygienic behavior; they can be Italian, Russian, Carniolan or mutts! Interested in selecting diverse stocks of bees for hygienic behavior first, and in time, other traits that will help the bees resist diseases and mites

20 VSH / SMR This hybrid has the ability to reduce the number of viable Varroa Mites in the hive. There is no bee that is 1% immune to the Varroa Mite. Suppressed Mite Reproduction (SMR) is a trait of honey bees that provides resistance to Varroa destructor. The mechanism of resistance in SMR bees is the removal of infested pupae from capped brood, so a better name is VSH bees (acronym for Varroa Sensitive Hygiene)

21 Russian Bees originate in the Primorsky Krai region of Russia imported into the United States in 1997 Varroa mite came to the United States in Russian Carniolan strain improves the survival from Varroa. When in the presence of other strains this trait diminishes.

22 A comparison of various colony characteristics of Italian and Russian honey bees Characteristic Italians Russians Varroa mites More susceptible More resistant Tracheal mites More susceptible Highly resistant Brood rearing: Continuous throughout the summer Usually only during times of pollen availability Robbing High Low Queen cells: Only during swarming or queen replacement Present most of the time Pollination skills Small difference from Russian bees Small difference from Italian bees Temperament Gentle, less defensive; not likely to sting defensive; not likely to sting Gentle, less Color Light Dark

23 Requeening Italian colonies with Russian queens The requeening procedure has frustrated many beekeepers because standard introduction techniques often are not successful when requeening Italian colonies with Russian queens, as the colonies may reject the new queens. Italian bee colonies need more time and separation to become acclimated to Russian queens. Step 1: Split the colony in half, with the two halves separated by a double screen. Step 2: Place the old queen in the bottom half and a caged Russian queen in the upper half. Step 3: Release the Russian queen from her cage after 7 to 1 days. Step 4: Once the Russian queen has been accepted and has laid eggs for one month, kill the old queen, and reunite the two halves (remove the screens) Source NC State Extension

24 Comparison of bees and their traits *AFB = American foulbrood **EFB = European foulbrood published by the NC Extension Service Italian German Carniolan Buckfast Caucasian Russian Color Light Dark Black Medium Dark Gray Disease resistance Varroa Tracheal AFB* EFB** other Gentleness Mod Low High Low-mod High Low-mod Spring buildup Good Low Very good Low Very low Ok Over-wintering Good Very good Good Good Ok Very good ability Excess swarming Ok Ok High Low Low Ok Honey processing Very good Ok Good Good Low ok Propolis Low Ok Low Low High ok Other traits Heavy Long tongue robbing Short tongue, nice white cappings Low robbing, good comb builders Supersedure queens produce defensive colonies Brood rearing affected by flow, queen cells always present

25 Some References History of Beekeeping in the United States By EVERETT OERTEL Retired, formerly apiculturist, U.S. Department of Agriculture. BEEKEEPING IN THE UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NUMBER 335 Revised October 198 Pages 2 9 NC Extension Service