Bee Terminology
Hive and equipment
Apiary: A location where beehives are kept.
Bee space: The ideal space bees leave between combs or frames for easy passage, which is about 3/8 inch to ¼ inch.
Bottom board: The floor of the beehive, with an entrance.
Brood box /Brood chamber: The box where the queen lays eggs and the brood develops.
Capping: A thin layer of beeswax used to seal mature brood or ripe honey.
Foundation: A beeswax or plastic sheet that guides comb construction.
Frame: A rectangular structure inside a hive box that provides support for bees to build comb.
Hive: A man-made structure for housing a bee colony.
Honey super: A box placed above the brood box for honey storage.
Langstroth hive: A popular type of vertically stacked hive with movable frames.
Nucleus hive (Nuc): A smaller, starter hive with a few frames, a queen, and bees.
Observation hive: A hive, often made of glass, that allows for observation of bees.
Queen excluder: A barrier that allows worker bees but not the queen to pass through, separating the brood from honey supers.
Colony and structure
Colony: A community of bees living in a hive, including a queen, drones, and workers.
Comb: A structure of hexagonal wax cells used for storing honey, pollen, and brood.
Honey: A sweet liquid produced by bees from flower nectar.
Propolis: A resinous mixture collected from tree buds, used as a sealant and antiseptic in the hive.
Bee biology and life cycle
Abdomen: The posterior body part of a bee that contains the sting and honey stomach.
Bee bread: A mixture of pollen, honey, and royal jelly, used as food for the colony.
Brood: Bee eggs, larvae, and pupae.
Drone: A male bee.
Honey stomach: A separate stomach for carrying nectar and honey.