Beekeeping Glossary
Bait Hive
A hive or box placed preferably in an elevated location used to attract and hopefully capture swarms.
Bee Blower
A motorized blower used as one method to remove bees from honeycombs. Typically frames are not removed from supers prior to using the blower.
Bee Bread
A fermented mixture of collected pollen and nectar or honey, deposited in the cells of a comb. Pollen is the primary pollen source for bees and is used especially by the nurse bees to produce royal jelly to feed the young larvae.
Bee Brush
A brush or whisk broom used to gently remove bees from combs.
Bee Escape
A device used to remove bees from honey supers or buildings by permitting bees to pass one way but preventing their return.
Beehive
A box or receptacle with movable frames, used for housing a colony of bees.
Bee Metamorphosis
The three stages through which a bee passes before reaching maturity: egg, larva, and pupa. During the pupal stage, large fat reserves are used to transform both the internal and external anatomy of the bee.
Bee Space
3/8-inch space between combs and hive parts in which bees build no comb or deposit only a small amount of propolis. Bee spaces are used as corridors to move within the hive.
Beeswax
A complex mixture of organic compounds secreted by four pairs of special glands on the worker bee's abdomen and used for building comb. Its melting point is from 143.6 to 147.2 degrees F.
Bee Veil
A cloth or form of hat usually made of wire netting to protect the beekeeper's head and neck from stings.
Bee Venom
The poison secreted by special glands attached to the stinger of the bee.
Boardman Feeder
A device for feeding bees that consists of an inverted jar with an attachment allowing access to the hive entrance.
Bottom Board
The floor of a beehive that all the other components build upon.
Brace Comb
A small bit of wax built between two combs or frames to fasten them together. Brace comb is also built between a comb and adjacent wood, or between two wooden parts such as top bars.
Braula Coeca
The scientific name of a wingless fly commonly known as the bee louse.
Brood
Immature bees that not yet emerged from their cells. Brood can be in the form of eggs, larvae, or pupae of different ages.
Brood Chamber
The part of the hive in which the brood is reared; may include one or more hive bodies and the combs within. Also referred to as the "Brood Nest"
Burr Comb
A bit of wax built upon a comb or upon a wooden part in a hive but not connected to any other part.