This glossary covers the most common terms you will encounter as a beekeeper, from your first hive through your tenth season. Definitions are kept short and practical. Where we have a full guide on the topic, the term links to it so you can go deeper.
A
Absconding. When an entire colony abandons its hive due to stress, pests, disease, or poor conditions. Unlike swarming, where the colony splits, absconding means every bee leaves and nothing remains.
Africanized honey bee. A hybrid between Apis mellifera scutellata (African bee) and European honey bee strains. Established across the southern US, Central America, and South America. Known for aggressive defensive behavior. Choosing the right bee breed for your climate covers how to manage around Africanized genetics.
American foulbrood (AFB). A fatal, highly contagious bacterial brood disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Spores survive for over 40 years. The standard treatment is burning the infected hive and equipment. Notifiable in most states and countries. Full guide to bee diseases and pests.
Apiary. The location where beehives are kept. Also called a bee yard.
Apis mellifera. The western honey bee, the species managed by beekeepers across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australasia. All common bee "breeds" (Italian, Carniolan, Buckfast, Russian) are subspecies of Apis mellifera.
B
Bee bread. Pollen that has been packed into comb cells, mixed with honey and enzymes, and fermented by naturally present microbes. Bee bread is the primary protein source fed to developing larvae.
Bee brush. A soft-bristled brush used to gently sweep bees off frames during inspections or harvest.
Bee escape. A one-way valve placed between the brood box and honey super that lets bees move down but not back up. Used to clear supers of bees before harvest. How to clear bees from honey supers.
Bee space. The gap of 6 to 9 mm (1/4 to 3/8 inch) that bees leave open as passageways. Gaps smaller than bee space get filled with propolis; gaps larger get filled with burr comb. The Langstroth hive is designed around this measurement.
Bee suit. Full-body protective clothing that shields the beekeeper from stings during hive work. Modern ventilated suits use multi-layer mesh to block stings while allowing airflow. Browse ventilated bee suits.
Beekeeping gloves. Sting-resistant gloves, typically leather or synthetic with long cuffs that cover the forearms. Browse beekeeping gloves.
Beekeeping veil. A mesh screen worn over the head and face to protect against stings while maintaining visibility. Available in round, fencing, and folding styles. Browse beekeeping veils.
Bottom board. The floor of the hive. Solid bottom boards retain heat; screened bottom boards improve ventilation and allow Varroa mites to fall through for monitoring.
Brood. The collective term for all immature bees in the hive: eggs, larvae, and pupae.
Brood box (brood chamber). The lower hive body where the queen lays eggs and brood is raised. Usually a deep or medium Langstroth box.
Brood nest. The area of comb actively used for raising brood, typically the center frames of the brood box. The brood nest is surrounded by arcs of pollen and honey.
Buckfast bee. A hybrid bee bred by Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey, England, starting around 1916. Selected for gentleness, disease resistance, productivity, and low swarming tendency.
Burr comb. Irregular comb built by bees in spaces larger than bee space, such as between boxes, on top bars, or between frames. Scraped off during inspections with a hive tool.
C
Candy plug. A small block of sugar candy in a queen cage that acts as a slow-release mechanism. Workers chew through the candy over 2 to 5 days, gradually releasing the queen. How to install a queen bee.
Cappings. The thin layer of fresh beeswax that bees build over sealed honey cells. Removed during extraction with an uncapping knife or roller. Cappings wax is the cleanest, most valuable wax the hive produces. What to do with leftover cappings.
Carniolan bee. A subspecies of Apis mellifera (A. m. carnica) native to Slovenia and the eastern Alps. Gentle, frugal with winter stores, fast spring buildup. Prone to swarming if not managed.
Chalkbrood. A fungal brood disease caused by Ascosphaera apis. Dead larvae turn into hard, white or grey-black mummies. Usually clears up with requeening and improved ventilation.
Cleansing flight. A short flight bees take to defecate outside the hive, particularly after long periods of confinement during winter.
Cluster. The tight ball of bees that forms inside the hive during cold weather. The cluster generates heat by vibrating flight muscles and moves slowly across the comb to access honey stores.
Colony. The complete social unit of honey bees living together: the queen, workers, drones, and brood.
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). A specific pattern of colony loss where adult workers disappear rapidly, leaving behind a queen, brood, and intact stores. First named in 2006. Most colony losses today are not CCD. What CCD really is and what causes colony losses.
Comb. The wax structure built by bees, consisting of hexagonal cells used for storing honey, pollen, and raising brood.
Crystallization. The natural process in which glucose in honey forms solid crystals, turning liquid honey thick or grainy. Not spoilage. Reversed by gentle warming below 40°C. How long honey lasts and how to store it.
D
Dearth. A period when little or no nectar is available for foraging. Can occur in mid-summer (drought), early spring (before bloom), or late autumn.
Deep (deep super). A Langstroth hive body 9 5/8 inches tall. The standard size for brood boxes, also used for honey supers.
Deformed wing virus (DWV). A virus transmitted primarily by Varroa mites. Infected bees emerge with crumpled, non-functional wings and shortened lifespans.
Drawn comb. Comb that bees have fully built out from foundation, with cells shaped and ready for use. Drawn comb is valuable because it saves the colony the energy of building new wax.
Drone. A male honey bee. Drones have large eyes, a thick body, no stinger, and one purpose: mating with virgin queens. Drones are expelled from the hive before winter.
E
Entrance reducer. A wooden or metal strip placed at the hive entrance to narrow the opening. Helps small or new colonies defend against robbers and pests. Essential during package installation and winter.
European foulbrood (EFB). A bacterial brood disease caused by Melissococcus plutonius. Less severe than AFB. Larvae die before being capped, appearing twisted and discolored in open cells. Often resolves with requeening and good nutrition.
Extractor. A device that uses centrifugal force to fling honey out of uncapped frames without destroying the comb. Available in tangential and radial designs, manual and motorized. How to choose a honey extractor. How to use an extractor properly.
F
Fondant. A soft sugar patty used as emergency winter feed. Placed directly on the top bars above the cluster. Does not add moisture to the hive the way liquid syrup does.
Foundation. A thin sheet of beeswax or plastic stamped with a hexagonal cell pattern, placed inside frames to guide bees in building straight comb. Available as wired beeswax, plastic-coated, or full-plastic.
Frame. A rectangular wooden or plastic structure that holds comb inside the hive. Standard Langstroth frames come in deep, medium, and shallow sizes.
Frame feeder. A hollow container shaped like a hive frame that holds syrup inside the hive. Holds 1 to 2 gallons. Requires a float to prevent bee drowning. Bee feeder types compared.
Fume board. A flat board with a dark outer surface and absorbent inner lining, used with a repellent to drive bees out of honey supers before harvest. Works by solar heat. How to use fume boards and other clearing methods.
G
Guard bee. A worker bee stationed at the hive entrance whose job is to inspect returning foragers and repel intruders. Guard bees release alarm pheromone when they detect a threat.
H
Hive body. A box that holds frames of comb. Also called a super. The brood box (where the queen lives) and honey super (where surplus honey is stored) are both hive bodies of different designated purposes.
Hive tool. A flat metal bar used to pry apart frames, scrape propolis and burr comb, and lever boxes apart. The most used hand tool in beekeeping. Browse hive tools and accessories.
HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural). A chemical compound that increases in honey with heat exposure and age. The Codex Alimentarius caps HMF at 40 mg/kg. High HMF indicates overheated or old honey.
Honey gate. A valve fitted to the bottom of a bucket or tank that controls the flow of honey during bottling.
Honey super. A hive body placed above the brood box, separated by a queen excluder, where bees store surplus honey that the beekeeper harvests. When to add and remove the honey super.
Hygroscopic. The property of absorbing moisture from the air. Honey is hygroscopic, which is why it must be stored in airtight containers to prevent the moisture content from rising above safe levels.
I
Inner cover. A flat board placed between the top hive body and the outer cover. Creates a dead-air space for insulation and provides a ventilation notch.
Italian bee. The most widely kept honey bee subspecies (A. m. ligustica). Gentle, productive, easy to manage. Arrived in the US in 1859. Tends to use winter stores heavily.
L
Langstroth hive. The most common hive design worldwide, invented by L.L. Langstroth in 1851. Uses standardized, removable frames hung inside stacked boxes, all built around bee space.
Laying worker. A worker bee whose ovaries have activated, usually in a colony that has been queenless for more than two weeks. Laying workers produce only unfertilized drone eggs, often with multiple eggs per cell and eggs on cell walls.
M
Medium (medium super). A Langstroth hive body 6 5/8 inches tall. Lighter than a deep when full of honey. Common as a honey super and sometimes used for brood.
Mite wash. A sampling method used to count Varroa mites on adult bees. A half-cup (roughly 300) of bees are washed in alcohol or rolled in powdered sugar. The mites are counted and divided by 3 to calculate the percentage. How to monitor Varroa mites step by step.
N
Nasonov pheromone. A scent released by worker bees from a gland on the abdomen to signal "come here" to flying swarmmates or lost foragers. Contains citral and geraniol. Lemongrass oil mimics it and is used as a swarm lure. How to attract bees to a hive.
Nectar flow. A period when flowering plants produce abundant nectar and bees bring it into the hive in large quantities. Also called a honey flow. The main nectar flow is when most surplus honey is produced.
Nosema. A gut disease of adult bees caused by microsporidian fungi (Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis). Reduces bee lifespan and foraging ability. Diagnosed by microscopic spore count.
Nuc (nucleus colony). A small, functioning colony on 4 to 5 frames with a laying queen, brood, stores, and workers. Used to start new hives or requeen existing ones. Package bees vs nucs compared.
Nurse bee. A young worker bee (roughly 3 to 12 days old) whose job is to feed larvae by secreting royal jelly from her hypopharyngeal glands.
O
Orientation flight. A short, hovering flight young bees take outside the hive entrance to memorize the hive's location. Often mistaken for swarming by new beekeepers.
Oxalic acid. A naturally occurring organic acid used to treat Varroa mites by vaporization, dribbling, or glycerin strips. EPA-approved for use in honey bee colonies. How to use an oxalic acid vaporizer.
P
Package bees. A screened wooden crate containing roughly 10,000 to 12,000 worker bees and a separately caged queen, used to start a new colony. How to install a package of bees.
Phoretic mite. A Varroa mite riding on the body of an adult bee rather than reproducing inside a brood cell. Phoretic mites are the ones killed by oxalic acid and other non-systemic treatments.
Pollen patty. A protein supplement made from pollen substitute (soy flour, brewer's yeast, or similar) mixed with sugar syrup, placed on the top bars to feed the colony when natural pollen is scarce. When and why to feed pollen substitutes.
Propolis. A sticky, resinous substance bees collect from tree buds and use to seal cracks, coat interior surfaces, and sterilize the hive. Has antimicrobial properties.
Q
Queen. The only fully fertile female in the colony. She mates once (on one or more mating flights), stores sperm for life, and lays up to 1,500 eggs per day at peak. The queen's role in colony health.
Queen cell. A large, peanut-shaped wax cell in which a new queen is raised. Found on the bottom of frames (swarm cells) or the face of frames (supersedure or emergency cells).
Queen excluder. A flat screen with gaps large enough for workers but too small for the queen, placed between the brood box and honey super to prevent the queen from laying in the harvest frames.
Queenless. A colony that has lost its queen. Signs include absence of eggs, scattered brood pattern, agitated behavior, and (after two weeks) laying workers.
R
Refractometer. A handheld optical instrument that measures the moisture content of honey. Essential for confirming honey is below 18.6% moisture before bottling. How to use a honey refractometer.
Requeening. Replacing the queen in an established colony, either because she is old, poorly mated, aggressive, or failing.
Robbing. When bees from one colony steal honey from another, usually during a dearth. Robbing can kill a weak colony. Prevented by entrance reduction and internal feeders.
Royal jelly. A protein-rich secretion produced by nurse bees from their hypopharyngeal glands. Fed to all larvae for the first three days and to the queen throughout her life. It is what determines whether a larva develops into a worker or a queen.
Russian bee. A strain of Apis mellifera selected by the USDA from stock in the Primorsky region of eastern Russia. Shows natural tolerance to Varroa and tracheal mites.
S
Scout bee. A forager that searches for new food sources or, during swarming, new nesting sites. Scouts report locations to the colony through waggle dances.
Shallow (shallow super). A Langstroth hive body 5 3/8 inches tall. The lightest super when full. Used mainly for honey production, especially for beekeepers who want to avoid heavy lifting.
Small hive beetle. Aethina tumida, a pest originally from sub-Saharan Africa. Adults are small, dark beetles that hide in hive crevices. Larvae tunnel through comb, ferment honey, and can destroy weak colonies.
Smoker. A device with a fire chamber and bellows that produces cool smoke to calm bees during inspections. Smoke masks alarm pheromone, triggers a gorging response, and mildly repels bees from the work area. How to use a bee smoker properly.
Supersedure. When a colony replaces its queen by raising a new queen from existing eggs or young larvae. Usually happens when the old queen's pheromone weakens, she is injured, or she is failing.
Swarm. The natural reproductive process of a honey bee colony. The old queen leaves with roughly 50 to 70% of the workers to start a new colony, while the original hive raises a new queen. How to attract swarms to a bait hive.
Sugar syrup. A solution of white granulated sugar dissolved in water, used to feed bees. Mixed 1:1 (sugar to water by weight) for spring feeding and 2:1 for autumn store building. How to feed bees after installation.
T
Top bar hive. A horizontal hive design where bees build comb downward from individual bars rather than inside removable frames. Simpler to build but not compatible with standard extractors.
Top feeder. A large syrup reservoir that sits on top of the hive under the outer cover. Holds 2 to 4 gallons. The best feeder type for autumn store building. Fall feeding with top feeders.
U
Uncapping. The process of removing the wax cappings from sealed honey cells before extraction. Done with an uncapping knife, fork, or roller. Honey harvest equipment guide.
V
Varroa mite (Varroa destructor). An external parasitic mite that feeds on the fat body of honey bees and transmits at least five viruses. The single biggest threat to managed honey bees worldwide. Untreated colonies collapse within 1 to 3 years. How to monitor Varroa mites. Varroa treatment with oxalic acid.
Ventilation. Airflow through the hive, managed through entrance size, upper vents, and quilt boxes. Adequate ventilation prevents moisture buildup, which is the primary killer of colonies in winter. How to winterize a beehive.
Vitellogenin (Vg). A large storage protein produced in the bee's fat body. High Vg levels drive brood-food production in nurse bees and enable winter bees to live 4 to 6 months. Now used by researchers as a biomarker of bee nutritional status.
W
Waggle dance. A figure-eight dance performed by forager bees on the comb surface to communicate the direction and distance of a food source or potential nest site to other workers.
Water activity (aw). A measure of how much water in a substance is available for microbial growth. Honey's aw of approximately 0.56 is well below the mold and bacterial growth threshold of 0.7, which is why properly stored honey does not spoil. Does honey expire?.
Wax moth. A moth whose larvae feed on beeswax comb, causing extensive damage to weak colonies and stored equipment. Two species: greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella). Wax moths: identification, prevention, and stored-comb protection.
Winter bee. A long-lived worker bee produced in late summer and autumn, with high vitellogenin reserves, that sustains the colony through winter. Winter bees live 4 to 6 months, compared to 6 weeks for summer workers.
Winterizing. Preparing a hive for winter: ensuring adequate stores, treating for Varroa, adding ventilation, installing mouse guards, reducing the entrance, and optionally wrapping or insulating the hive. How to winterize a beehive.
This glossary will grow as we add new guides and topics. If a term is missing, let us know. For the complete seasonal walkthrough, a 12-step guide to becoming a beekeeper covers every stage from first hive to first harvest.
