Honeybee Species, Colony Castes and Beekeeping in India

Cultivable Honeybee Species in India

In India, while several species of honeybees exist in the wild, only a few are truly cultivable (meaning they can be kept in artificial hives and managed by humans). The distinction between “wild” and “cultivable” is crucial: wild species like the Rock Bee (Apis dorsata) produce high amounts of honey but are too aggressive and nomadic to be kept in boxes.

Primary Cultivable Species

Two species dominate commercial and domestic beekeeping in India because they are cavity-nesters, meaning they naturally build multiple parallel combs in dark, enclosed spaces (perfect for wooden hive boxes).

Apis cerana indica (Indian Hive Bee)

• Status: Indigenous (native to India).
• Characteristics: Medium-sized, gentle, and well-adapted to the Indian climate, especially in hilly and forest regions.
• Yield: 6–10 kg of honey per colony per year.
• Pros: Highly resistant to local pests and diseases (like the Varroa mite). It is excellent for small-scale and organic beekeeping.
• Cons: Prone to absconding (leaving the hive if disturbed or if food is scarce) and frequent swarming.

Apis mellifera (European / Italian Bee)

• Status: Exotic (introduced to India in the 1960s).
• Characteristics: Larger than the Indian bee, golden-brown in color, and extremely hardworking.
• Yield: 25–40 kg (or more) of honey per colony per year.
• Pros: Very high honey yield, maintains larger populations (50,000+ bees), and is less likely to abandon the hive. This is the “workhorse” of the Indian honey export industry.
• Cons: More susceptible to local diseases and requires intensive management and supplemental feeding during “dearth” (flower-less) periods.

Secondary Cultivable Species

These species are cultivated on a smaller scale, often for specialized medicinal honey or specific pollination needs.

Tetragonula iridipennis (Dammer Bee / Stingless Bee)

• Status: Indigenous.
• Characteristics: Tiny, mosquito-like, and stingless. They build irregular “pots” of honey rather than hexagonal combs.
• Yield: Very low (100 g – 500 g per year).
• Why cultivate? Their honey is considered highly medicinal (“Puttu Then” in the South) and can fetch 10× the price of regular honey. They are also superior pollinators for greenhouses.

Comparison for Indian Beekeepers

Comparison of features between Apis cerana and Apis mellifera for Indian beekeepers:

Why Aren’t Other Bees Cultivated?

• Rock Bee (Apis dorsata): Although it produces up to 40 kg per comb, it is “open-nesting.” If you put it in a box, it will sting the beekeeper and fly away immediately. It is only harvested via “honey hunting” in the wild.
• Little Bee (Apis florea): Also open-nesting. It builds a single comb on a branch. While the honey is delicious, the yield (about 500 g) is too low for commercial effort.

Honeybee Colony Structure and Castes

A honeybee colony is a “superorganism” where thousands of individuals work as a single unit. Their social organization is defined by a rigid caste system consisting of one Queen, several hundred Drones, and thousands of Workers. Each caste is physically and behaviorally specialized for a specific role.

The Queen (The Mother)

• Role: The Queen is the only sexually mature female in the hive. There is typically only one queen per colony.
• Physical features: She is the largest bee, with a long, tapering abdomen that extends past her wings. She lacks pollen baskets and wax glands.
• Primary role: Her sole purpose is reproduction. She can lay up to 1,500–2,000 eggs per day during peak season.
• Social control: She secretes a “Queen Substance” (pheromone) that inhibits ovary development of worker bees and keeps the colony integrated.
• Lifespan: 2 to 5 years.

The Drone (The Male)

• Role: Drones are the only males in the colony and make up about 5–10% of the population.
• Physical features: They are stout and broader than workers, with very large eyes (to spot a queen in flight). They have no stinger, no pollen baskets, and cannot even feed themselves—they are fed by workers.
• Primary role: To mate with a virgin queen during her nuptial flight.
• Fate: A drone dies immediately after mating. If they do not mate, they are usually driven out of the hive by workers before winter to conserve food stores.
• Lifespan: 4 to 8 weeks (seasonal).

The Worker (The Multitasker)

Workers are sexually undeveloped (sterile) females. They represent the vast majority of the colony (20,000 to 60,000 bees).

• Physical features: The smallest bees in the hive, equipped with specialized tools: a stinger for defense, pollen baskets (corbiculae) on their legs, and wax-secreting glands.
• Primary role: They do all the work required to maintain the hive. Their jobs change as they age (age polyethism):
  • Days 1–3: Cleaning cells and keeping the brood warm.
  • Days 4–12: “Nurse Bees” feeding the larvae and the queen.
  • Days 13–18: Producing wax, building combs, and processing nectar into honey.
  • Days 19–21: Guarding the hive entrance.
  • Days 22+: “Foragers” leaving the hive to collect nectar, pollen, water, and propolis.
• Lifespan: 6 weeks during the active summer; up to 6 months during winter.

Summary Table: Caste Differentiation

Behavior and Seasonal Management

To master apiculture, it is essential to understand how bees interact with their environment and how beekeepers manage these behaviors across seasons.

Nesting Behavior

Honeybees are classified into two groups based on where they build their nests:

• Open-nesting: Species like the Rock Bee (A. dorsata) and Little Bee (A. florea) build a single, large wax comb hanging from tree branches, cliffs, or buildings. These are difficult to domesticate.
• Cavity-nesting: Species like the Indian Bee (A. cerana) and European Bee (A. mellifera) build multiple parallel combs in dark, enclosed spaces (hollow trees or man-made hives). This behavior allows humans to keep them in boxes.

Bee Foraging & The Waggle Dance

Foraging is the act of bees leaving the hive to collect nectar (energy), pollen (protein), water, and propolis.

• The scout’s role: Scout bees find a food source and return to the hive to “recruit” others.
• The waggle dance: This is a sophisticated figure-eight dance used to communicate the location of food over long distances.
  • Direction: The angle of the “waggle run” (the middle of the 8) relative to the vertical axis of the comb indicates the direction of the food relative to the sun.
  • Distance: The duration of the waggle indicates how far away the food is (longer waggle = further distance).
  • Quality: The vigor and repetition of the dance signal how rich the nectar is.

Swarming in Honeybees

Swarming is the natural reproduction of a colony. When a hive becomes overcrowded, the colony splits.

• The process: The old queen leaves with about half the worker bees to find a new home. Before leaving, the workers build “queen cells” so a new queen can hatch and take over the original hive.
• Beekeeper’s view: While natural, swarming is often discouraged by beekeepers because it reduces the honey-producing population by half. It is managed by providing more space (adding “supers”) or splitting the colony manually.

Defense Mechanisms

Bees are not naturally aggressive; they are defensive.

• Guard bees: Workers aged 18–21 days stand at the hive entrance. They identify nestmates by scent and repel intruders.
• Alarm pheromones: When a bee stings, it releases a pheromone (isopentyl acetate) that smells like bananas. This signals other bees to attack the same target.
• Unique defense: Apis cerana (Indian Bee) uses “heat-balling” to kill predatory hornets by vibrating their wing muscles to raise the temperature to a level the hornet cannot survive.

Diseases, Predators and Management

In apiculture, honeybees face threats from pathogens (diseases) and predators (enemies). Successful beekeeping in India depends on early identification and a mix of chemical and organic management practices.

Common Bee Diseases

Diseases are generally categorized into brood diseases (affecting larvae) and adult diseases.

Major Enemies of Honeybees

In India, predators often cause more immediate damage than diseases, sometimes causing entire colonies to abscond (flee).

Wax Moths (Greater & Lesser)

• Damage: Larvae tunnel through wax combs, eating the wax and leaving silken webs.
• Control: Keep colonies strong (strong bees protect their combs). Store extra combs in deep freezers or use sulfur/acetic acid fumigation for stored equipment.

Predatory Wasps (Hornets)

• Damage: Wasps wait at the hive entrance to catch flying bees.
• Control: Use “wasp traps” (bottles with sweet liquid); physically kill wasps with a “fly flapper” during peak hours; locate and destroy wasp nests in the vicinity.

Mites (Varroa & Tropilaelaps)

• Damage: These “bee lice” suck the hemolymph of adults and brood, causing deformed wings.
• Control:
  • Formic acid (65%) or oxalic acid treatments.
  • Thymol crystals placed on top of frames.
  • Dusting with powdered sugar to make mites fall off.

Ants

• Damage: Invade hives to steal honey and brood.
• Control: Place hive stands in water cups (ant-wells) or apply grease/oil to the legs of the hive stand.

General Preventive Measures

Prevention is always more cost-effective than treatment in beekeeping:

• Strict hygiene: Regularly clean the bottom board of the hive to remove debris.
• Maintain colony strength: A strong, populous colony can naturally defend against wax moths and wasps.
• Proper ventilation: Prevents fungal growth (chalkbrood) and stress.