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Honey, an important household ingredient is produced by nature’s most hard-working insects, the honey bees! Did you know that honey bees could on average produce 150 kgs of honey per year? Apart from this, substances like beeswax, bee venom, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis are proven traditional remedies and are well-known commercially profitable products. It is essential to understand how the life cycle stages honey bees take place and as bees are the most vital creatures for human beings, it is important to know the honey bee life stages. This article briefs on the honey bee types, their life cycle, and individual roles, along with some important questions.
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Keyterms: Honey, Bee, Beeswax, Bee venom, Pollen, Royal jelly, Propolis, Apis, Hymenopterans, Plant nectar, Bee bread
Honey Bee Types
Honey bees belong to the order Hymenopterans and the genus Apis. The Apis Mellifera or the honey-bearing species, build habitats that can have a population size of 20, 000 to 50, 000 bees. The male sexes are called drones whereas the females are classified further as workers and queen bees. The number of eggs emerging into drones and queens is higher than that of the workers.
The drone bees only mate with queen bees and are not involved in collecting nectar or working in the hive. The worker bees perform varied functions within the hives at different stages of their lifetime. Queen bees, on the other hand, mate mid-air by flying out of the hives upon maturity and then return to lay eggs.
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Hive Structure and Formation
The honeycombs also known as the colonies or hives, are spectacular hexagonal structures or cells formed from a series of combs placed in 2 layers. These layers are composed of secretions (liquid wax) that are produced from the eight-paired glands in the abdomen region of the bees. The wax on exposure to air becomes hard giving the hive its rigid structure. These cells are also small powerhouses that store the plant nectar, bee bread, and food (honey).
The hexagonal structure of a beehive
Honey Bee Life Cycle
The journey from an egg to an adult honey bee comprises of four major stages:
- Egg
- Larva
- Pupa
- Adult
The sex of the bee is determined by the time each egg takes to emerge from the cell. The total cycle lasts for 24 days wherein the queens emerge in 16 days, workers in 18-22 days, and drones take 24 days to fully mature. Let us briefly look at the major developments in each of the above stages.
Stage 1: Egg
The queen bee post-mating lays about 2000-3000 eggs per day which are as small as a grain of rice. These eggs are initially positioned upright in the egg cells and later by the 3rd day, they tend to fall into the cell sides. These eggs could be fertilized, that develop into workers or potential queen bees, or could be unfertilized, developing into drones.
Stage 2: Larva
The eggs develop into larva which is fed by the young worker bees in the hives, initially with nutritious worker jelly. After three days into this stage, the bees emerge into queens or workers. At this point, the queens are fed content-rich food called the royal jelly (bee milk). This jelly is composed of proteins, water, vitamins, fats (lipids), sugars, and some mineral salts that are made in the head and salivary glands of the young worker bees. From the 6th to 14th day, the larva begins to shed its skin multiple times throughout this stage thereby sealing the hive with beeswax. This waxy layer protects the larva and ensures the transformation into the pupal stage.
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Stage 3: Pupa
The isolated egg cell slowly transforms into a cocoon with self-woven silk by day 14. At this stage, one can see the wings, eyes, legs, small body hairs, and abdomen, closely resembling an adult bee.
Stage 4: Adult
Till day 21, the pupa takes in nutrition from the hive by consuming proteins and fats. Next, it starts to eat the shell and finds its way out. The new adult bee before going out to take nectar spends quality time in the maintenance work of the cells along with fellow workers.
Honey Bee Life Cycle Diagram
The diagram given below unveils the honey bee life cycle. The phases that are shown here, include the queen bee laying the egg, the egg forming into a larva. This larva then continues to form a cocoon around it creating a pupa, which then opens up to give life to an adult bee. The honey bee life cycle diagram can be put into a reversible cycle as around 2500 eggs are laid by the queen bee each day. The queen bee life cycle chart would also be similar except for the fact that it receives additional care in its larva form.
Honey bee life cycle
Interesting Facts
For a colony to thrive, the most prominent role is played by the queen bee, she lays a good deal of eggs during her lifetime, ensures the eggs are well insulated inside the hive cells, and gets sufficient nutrition. At the end of the cycle, the queen bees fight amongst themselves and only one of them remains. As her quality of eggs reduces, she is eventually replaced by a new queen bee and a younger set of worker bees.
It is an interesting fact that a worker bee with a life span of just 6 weeks, consumes only ½ tablespoons of honey that it produces in its lifetime. The drones eventually die after mating and have a total life span of about 55 days. The queen bees owing to the nutrition they derive from the initial stages can live up to 5 years!
Conclusion
Researchers and scientists worldwide are constantly exploring artificial ways to keep up the reproduction cycle of these eusocial insects by mimicking their abilities and preventing their extinction from the recent climatic changes. Beekeeping or Apiculture is the method adopted for breeding bees artificially to increase their number and boost the global supply of honey. The location where these hives are maintained is called an apiary or bee yard. The life cycle of a honey bee from egg hatching to growing into an adult happens in a short period and the individual functions of the emerging adults vary in the colony.
Things to Remember
- Beehives can house 20 000 to 50 000 honey bees per hive and can produce an average of 150 kg of honey.
- Honey bees could be queens (female), drones (males), or worker bees (female) based on the time they emerge out of the hive cells.
- The beeswax produced by the worker bees gives a rigid structure to the honeycomb.
- There are four prominent stages in the life cycle of a honey bee wherein the second stage, larva, is where the major developmental changes happen concerning the sex of the bees.
- The honey bee life cycle diagram can be put into a reversible cycle as around 2500 eggs are laid by the queen bee each day. The queen bee life cycle chart would also be similar except for the fact that it receives additional care in its larva form.
Sample Questions
Ques. What are the types of honey bees and briefly describe each of their functions? (3 marks)
Ans. Honey bees are broadly classified into two types:
- Drones: These are the male bees that do not contribute to picking up nectar from the flowers or maintaining the hives. Their only function is to mate with the queen bees on maturity. The greatest number of eggs laid is of this type.
- Queen: These are female bees that mate with the male bees mid-air and return to the hives to lay a plentitude of eggs.
- Worker: These are also female bees, however, they do not lay eggs but are instrumental in maintaining the hives and supplying adequate nutrition to the eggs.
Ques. Explain briefly the structure of the honeycomb and its significance in the honey bee life cycle? (3 marks)
Ans. The honeycomb is also known as a hive or a colony. These are hexagonal structures composed of a series of combs or cells placed in two layers. The cells are the main source of nutrition for the eggs laid inside of it. This includes plant nectar, bee bread, and honey.
Ques. Explain the four basic stages in the honey bee life cycle? (5 marks)
Ans. The four basic stages are:
- Egg
- Larva
- Pupa
- Adult
Stage 1: Egg
The queen bee post-mating lays approximately 2000-3000 eggs per day. These eggs are initially positioned upright in the egg cells and later by the 3rd day, fall into the cell sides. The fertilized eggs develop into queen bees or workers and the unfertilized eggs mature into drones.
Stage 2: Larva
For the first three days, the eggs are fed a nutritious worker jelly by the young worker bees. Within the next few days, the larva reaches full growth to become queen bees, workers or drones. The queens are fed royal jelly by the young worker bees. From the 6th to 14th day, the larva sheds its skin multiple times followed by sealing of the hive with beeswax. This waxy layer protects the larva and ensures the transformation into the pupal stage.
Stage 3: Pupa
The isolated egg cell slowly transforms into a cocoon with self-woven silk by day 14. At this stage, one can see the wings, eyes, legs, small body hairs, and abdomen, closely resembling an adult bee.
Stage 4: Adult
The pupa takes in nutrition from the hive by consuming proteins and fats. By day 24, it starts to eat the shell and finds its way out. The new adult bee initially spends a few hours in the maintenance work of the cells along with fellow workers.
Ques. What is royal jelly and what is its basic composition? (2 marks)
Ans. The royal jelly or bees milk is a content-rich nutritious food made by the young worker bees to feed the potential queen bees. This jelly is composed of proteins, water, vitamins, fats (lipids), sugars, and some mineral salts that are made in the head and salivary glands of the young worker bees.
Ques. Explain the life cycle of honey bees in terms of the day they emerge out of the egg cells? (2 marks)
Ans. After the queen bee lays eggs in the hive cells. On the 16th day, the potential queen bees emerge out of the egg cells. Following this, between 18-22 days the worker bees emerge, and finally by day 24 the drone bees after attaining full maturity come out of the cells.
Ques. What is Apiculture and what is its significance? (2 marks)
Ans. The process of breeding and maintaining bee colonies artificially in apiaries is termed Apiculture. By doing this, beekeepers increase the number of honey bees to keep up the supply of important products such as honey, beeswax, jelly, and pollens that meet the demand of the global market.
Ques. What happens to the honey bees at the end of the life cycle? (3 marks)
Ans. After laying a plentitude of eggs, the queen bee ensures well insulation of the hive cells and sufficient nutrition to the eggs. Towards the end of a queen bee’s life cycle, the quality of her eggs reduces, she is eventually replaced by a new queen bee and a younger set of worker bees. The worker bees have a life span of 6 weeks, the drones live up to 55 days and due to the good nutrition received in the early days, the queen bees can survive up to 5 years.
Ques: What membres are there in a beehive and what are their bee lifespans? (4 marks)
Ans: Beehive is a very complicated place with an immense amount of organization and possesses a different honey bee lifespan. These different stages of honey bees are controlled by certain factors. And the different types of bees present here are:
- Worker bee: These bees consist of the female workforce of the hive, who have to build the hive, collect nectar, defend the hive as well as circulate air by their wings. Their bee lifespan is 6 weeks.
- Drone bee: These consist of male bees and their main role throughout its honey bee life cycle, is to mate with the queen bees. Their bee lifespan is 20 weeks.
- Queen bee: These are the main power in the hive. She lays around 2500 eggs in a day and commands other bees by chemical signals. The honey bee queen life cycle in 5 years.
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