Platform for beekeeping practice and know-how

The European honey bee, also known as the honey fly (Apis mellifera), is a domesticated honey bee species native to Europe. It is considered semi-domesticated. It is one of the bee species bred on a large scale for honey production.

Melliferous plants, apicultural plants, mellitophilous plants… all these terms refer to plants that are of interest to bees. But what do they really mean, and which term is the most appropriate?

The bee is an insect belonging to the order Hymenoptera (together with wasps, ants, etc.). Hymenopterans are equipped with two pairs of wings, three pairs of legs, and articulated appendages. Their body is composed of three distinct parts: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.

Heathers are small, bushy shrubs belonging to the Ericaceae family that grow on nutrient-poor soils. There are many species – several hundred – whose flowering periods extend almost throughout the entire year: June to August for Erica tetralix, June to October for Erica cinerea, June to December for Erica arborea, August to October for Calluna vulgaris, September to November for Erica multifolia, November to April or February to July for Erica carnea, etc.

(by Jean-Michel Normand)

Is it because it provides honey and wax? Or because its sophisticated organisation strangely echoes human societies? Or perhaps because of a character that is at once fierce and disciplined, making its domestication uncertain, or because of the way it positions itself at the confluence of the plant and animal worlds. Protean and tinged with mystery, the fascination exerted by the bee has endured for millennia, albeit with periods of interruption.

The first difficulty for a beginner beekeeper is choosing a hive. There are many systems, and all of them have their advantages and disadvantages, their supporters and their critics. It is important to choose hives carefully so that the colony develops well, production is satisfactory, overwintering proceeds properly, and beekeeping remains a pleasure. Dadant, Langstroth, Voirnot, Alsacienne, WBC, Warré, Layens, Simplex, Zander, National … and all the others: which is the best hive? How can one make a decision when starting out in beekeeping and the opinions of the “experienced beekeepers” diverge?

When one speaks of alfalfa, one first thinks of cultivated alfalfa, Medicago sativa, a perennial herbaceous plant native to the Middle East with blue-violet flowers; however, there are other species with flowers in different shades, ranging from yellow to white, via green and brown. All are highly melliferous.

Dioecious tree or shrub with deciduous leaves. The male flowers have yellow anthers; the female flowers are inconspicuous, greenish, and develop at maturity into capsules rich in seeds.

One might assume that asexual reproduction leads to an evolutionary dead end, with the accumulation of deleterious mutations ultimately resulting in species extinction. Recent studies show that this is not the case, and the drone provides a well-studied example. The particular case of reproduction in Varroa destructor is illuminating: these mites exhibit fewer deleterious mutations than other sexually reproducing insects …

Examples of asexual reproduction in certain animals include: the hammerhead shark, the leopard shark, the sawfish, the sea anemone, the Komodo dragon, the gecko, the aphid, the scale insect …

For millions of years, honey bees have ensured the persistence of the species through swarming. Swarming is a process in which a colony divides into two populations. The resident queen leaves the hive, accompanied by a large proportion of workers of all ages, to form a swarm that quickly clusters into a tight ball. The swarm leaves behind in the original hive the nest with emerging brood, about one third of the workers, and queen cells ready to hatch. A young queen will replace the old one, and the re-formed colony will begin its development…

The different bee races are determined using biometric traits (coloration, indices, etc.) as well as molecular markers (mitochondrial and nuclear). Defining races allows us to understand the biogeography of the honey bee.