Beekeeping is defined as the occupation of keeping and raising honey bees for their honey. Beekeeping has been around for centuries. Beekeepers have a lot of experience managing honey bees and the many rewards they can bring. To keep bees, you need to know how bees work, honey bee diseases, types of equipment, and the purpose of each tool. It is also important to know why bees are disappearing and what society as a whole can do to prevent their disappearance. Honey bees or Apis Mellifera, as they are known in the scientific world, are truly unique animals. Unlike most pollinating insects, honeybees are highly social and tend to live in large nests in the wild. There are three types of honey bees that live in these nests: the queen bee, worker bees and drone bees. The queen is the parent of the hive. There is usually one queen per colony. Its sole purpose is to lay eggs so that the colony is continuously populated (Flottum 33). She is the only able-bodied bee to lay eggs. Worker Bees are female bees that work to carry out the daily functions of the hive. Their work depends on their age and they do not live very long, their life expectancy is on average about 6 weeks during the spring and summer and about 6 months during the winter. There are five main jobs that worker bees do: nursing, comb making, hive maintenance, guarding, and foraging. These jobs are in order of age. The youngest bees will be the nurse bees who will take care of the young ones, feed them and keep them warm. Honeycomb builders are slightly older and build combs to store honey or pollen and to keep the young that the queen will produce. Beeswax comes from special wax glands located under the abdomen of the worker bee (Flottum 37). Hive maintenance... middle of the page... page. 693-695Delaplane, Keith S. First Beekeeping LessonsHamilton, IL Dadant & Sons Inc. 2007Dr. Wildbauer, Gilbert. “Honeybee Colonies” The Handy Bug Answer Book Detroit, MIVisible Ink Press 1998 pages 180-184 Ellis, Jamie. “Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in Honey Bees” University of Florida IFAS ExtensionMay 2007 Revision: September 2013University of Florida. February 17, 2014.Flottum, Kim. The Backyard BeekeeperMinneapolis, MN Quarry Books February 1, 2010Flottum, Kim with Summers, Kathy “New Beginnings with Bees”Medina, OH AI Root Co.Johansson, Toge SK “Beekeeping”Grolier Multimedia EncyclopediaGrolier Online, 2014 Web. February 17, 2014Sanford, Malcolm T. “Honey and Its Uses” University of Florida IFAS Extension, May 2003 Version: 2University of Florida. February 17 2014