The honey bee is one of the few insects that lives in colonies and passes the winter as a group. Beekeeping is possible because of those two things.

The colony is a whole

A single bee cannot live long. A colony regulates its temperature, stores food, defends itself and survives the winter.

A beekeeper therefore deals with the colony, not with individual bees. What is examined in an inspection is the state of the colony.

Why it can be kept in a hive

• It overwinters as a group: The colony continues from year to year rather than being founded afresh
• It stores a surplus: It puts away more than it needs, and the beekeeper takes the excess
• It chooses an enclosed cavity: A hive meets that natural preference
• It is relatively tolerant of handling

Three individuals

• The queen: The only reproducing female; lays eggs and holds the colony together with her pheromone
• The worker: A non-reproducing female that does all the work
• The drone: Mates, and does nothing else

The year

• Winter: Clustered, warming itself by vibrating flight muscles
• Spring: Brood rearing begins and the colony grows rapidly
• Late spring: The urge to divide; the swarming season
• Summer: Storing
• Late summer: Winter bees are reared

The whole calendar of beekeeping is built on this cycle.

Pollination

Moving from flower to flower the bee carries pollen. Yield and quality in many crops depend on this service.

But pollination is not the honey bee's work alone; wild bees and other insects do it too, and some are more effective on particular plants.

The relationship with wild bees

The honey bee is a generalist and can use most flowers. Excessive colony density can create competition with wild bees that depend on particular plants.

Setting colony numbers to the carrying capacity of the area is therefore right for both yield and the environment.

Stinging

A bee stings only in defence, and a worker dies when she does. Stinging is therefore a cost to the colony as well.

Moving slowly and calmly protects both the beekeeper and the colony.