Beverley
Beekeepers' Association
The
local Beekeeping Association for East Yorkshire
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The Life Cycle of the Honey Bee
As
fully metamorphic insects bees go through four stages in
their life cycle - Egg - Larva - Pupa - Adult. The Queen
lays eggs in the comb (see diagram right). The time taken
for each stage is given below:-
Worker Queen Drone
Open
Cell
Egg
3 days 3 days 3 days
Larva (4 moults) 5 days 5 days 7 days
Sealed Cell
Larva
(1 moult) 3 days 2 days 4 days
Pupa (1 moult) 10 days 6 days 10 days
From
egg to emergence
21 days 16 days 24 days
Life span after emergence
Summer bee 6 weeks 3 years 4 months
Winter bee 6 months 3 years none present
These
times are really important to a beekeeper as they determine
how often inspections and other actions need to be taken.
Eggs
The queen will only lay eggs in cells which have been
properly cleaned and prepared by the workers. The size of
the cell will determine whether or not the egg is to be
fertilised. Unfertilised eggs will produce drones.
When the egg is laid it stands in an upright position.
After 24 hours it leans at an angle of 45 degrees and on
the third day it is laying horizontal to the bottom of the
cell. Hence by examining the position of the eggs within
the comb we can ascertain how old the eggs are.
Food
After
the eggs hatch, the larvae of workers and drones are fed
initially on royal jelly which rapidly diminishes and is
replaced by brood food, and then brood food and honey.
Queen larvae are fed only on royal jelly.
Colony
Build up
The
colony starts to build up in early spring as the days
become warmer and the availability of suitable forage
increases. It is quite noticeable that the activities of
the queen will be reduced at those times when little or no
food is being brought in. Colony numbers are greatest in
July. Swarming usually occurs in May, June or July because
the colony is getting very big.