describes the pattern of brood on a frame. Irregularly spaced cells are left empty amongst an otherwise even slab of brood. Pepperpot brood can indicate the presence of AFB as the worker bees cannot clean the cells and the queen cannot relay in them. An in-bred queen may also display a pepperpot pattern of brood laying.

chemicals produced by animals to communicate with others. Bees produce a number of pheromones, see nasonov gland and queen substance.

a stage in the life of a varroa mite. In the phoretic stage (meaning migratory) the mites ride on adult bees, piercing the bees to feed on their haemolymph.

queen bees make two main sounds - quacking while still in the queen cell before they hatch, tooting after they hatch. Quacking and tooting are collectively known as Piping.

see queen cup

produced by plants to fertilise their flowers to reproduce. Pollen is the bees' protein source. Bees do better with a variety of pollens rather than being on one type exclusively. It has been estimated that a single colony, in only one year, will require 30kg of pollen. Pollen is predominantly eaten by worker bees, especially nurse bees who are producing brood food i.e. royal jelly for feeding young brood and the queen but is also fed, mixed with honey, as bee bread to older worker and drone larvae.

see corbiculae

artificial feeding for bees to stimulate brood production. May contain pollen. May contain soya and a variety of other substances to provide the bees with protein.

the sexual reproduction of plants. Insects such as bees aid in this by moving pollen from one flower to another allowing cross fertilisation.

a sticky substance produced by the buds of many plants and trees. Bees collect it and use it to fill up holes in the hive to prevent draughts. They also use it to polish cells ready for the queen to lay in. It is being investigated to discover its antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties.

this is a valve which prevents the nectar running into the stomach.  It acts also as a filter, extracting pollen out of the nectar as it moves into the honey stomach.