Beekeeping Glossary
This list of terms comes from Cornell University’s Dyce Lab for Honey Bee Studies.
There are currently 8 terms in this directory beginning with the letter W.
waggle dance
The waggle dance is a dance performed by foragers and scout bees to communicate information about the location of sources of food/resources and nest sites. The pattern indicates direction and distance; the number of times the dance is repeated indicates the quality of the source or nest site. It is a famous example of honey bee communication.
wax
Wax is the malleable substance that honey bees secrete and use to build comb in their nest. House bees producing wax through their wax glands must consume a lot of honey to produce wax. Wax absorbs lipophilic (fat-loving) substances.
wax gland
Wax glands are on the underside of worker bees’ abdomens. These glands are most active before the worker transitions to foraging.
wax mirrors
When honey bees produce wax, they excrete liquid wax from their wax glands and deposit it onto plates called wax mirrors, where it hardens into scales or flakes as it dries. The bees then scrape off the hardened wax scales, chew and moisten it until it is the right consistency, and transfer it to the comb.
winter bees
Winter bees are produced within a colony from late summer to late fall to survive the winter. Their physiology differs from that of summer bees insofar as they have lower levels of juvenile hormone, and larger hypopharyngeal glands, and larger and more numerous fat bodies than summer bees.
winter patty
A winter patty is a food supplement fed to honey bee colonies in the winter. It is comprised of mainly sugar, water, and corn syrup, with small amounts of pollen substitute.
