Life Cycle of Bees2/21/14
Initiation of Hive
Bees have yearly cycle Winter die-off Become active in spring Peak late summer/early fall▪ Queens mate
If virgin, queen mates and searches for hive site once fed enough
Builds wax honeypot, fills with pollen and honey, and starts colony
Finding/Caring for the Queen Usually found on or near frames
containing eggs Attendants/retinue Queen excluder Don’t leave super open for too long Make sure queen is present and
laying
Brooding
Eggs are laid near the honeypot in a pollen ball
Broods over them until hatching About 4 days
Grubs/Pupae
Eat pollen Not too much else Then -> cocoon
Silk + poop After about 5 weeks,adult bees!
Workers
Female Differentiate various tasks
Hive building/maintenance Foraging Guarding
Workers live for about 4 weeks But do a lot in the meantime
Laying Males
Once colony is up and running, queen starts laying males Unfertilized eggs
Once queen starts laying males, she lays no more workers Only queens and drones -> sign of the
end phase of the colony Due to switching on/off of
pheromones, workers ovaries develop and can lay males
Role of Males
Really, not too much
Mating Incubate young? Once they leave
the nest, they are gone for good
Laying Queens
Caste determination Pheromones
If receives no worker pheromones and enough food, emerges from final pupal stage as queen Just continuation of worker
development Laid during emergency,
supercedure, or swarming
Mating Queens emerge after
males, go forage Attracted by
chemical secreted by male Patrol circuits Waits for suitable
partner Queens mate only
once
Queen Hibernation
Finds spot after mating Stores up on nectar to survive the
winter Honey Stomach
Hibernates through winter Glycerol as anti-freeze Can be 6-9 months
Colonies also overwinter Bee ball
Top Related