What Is Metamorphosis?
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, amphibians, molluscs, crustaceans, etc. undergo metamorphosis.
A honey bee goes through 4 stages of metamorphosis:
- Egg
- Larva
- Pupa
- Adult
After 21 days, the worker bee emerges as an adult and immediately goes to work. She:
- cleans cells to prepare them for the queen to lay another egg, for about 3 days
- becomes a nurse bee and feeds the larvae and queen, for about 10 days
- helps with hive cleaning, cooling or heating, and guarding against intruders, for about 5 days
- becomes a field bee where she forages for nectar, pollen, water, and resin.
- perishes after 5-6 weeks having flown approximately 500 miles in every direction to collect essentials for the hive. (Interesting to note, she usually dies due to wearing out her wings !)
The Three Casts (Types) of Bees In A Hive:
- Queen
- Worker (female)
- Drone (male)
Honey Bee Life Cycle
Development from egg to emerging bee varies among queens, workers (females) and drones (males). Queens emerge from their cells in 15 to16 days, workers in 21 days and drones in 24 days. Only one queen is usually present in a hive. New virgin queens develop in enlarged cells through differential feeding of royal jelly by workers. When the existing queen ages or dies or the colony becomes very large, a new queen is raised by the worker bees. The virgin queen takes one or several nuptial flights, where she mates, and, once she is established, starts laying eggs in the hive.
A fertile queen is able to lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs. Each unfertilized egg develops into a drone. The fertilized eggs develop into either workers or virgin queens.
The average lifespan of a:
- queen is three to four years
- drone (male) is usually about 8 weeks, but they die upon mating or are expelled from the hive before the winter
- worker (female) is 5-6 weeks in the summer foraging season and several months in areas with an extended winter.
Type | Egg | Larva | Cell capped | Pupa | Average Developmental Period (Days until emergence) |
Start of Fertility |
Queen | up to Day 3 | up to Day 8½ | Day 7½ | Day 8 until emergence | 16 days | Day 23 and up |
Worker | up to Day 3 | up to Day 9 | Day 9 | Day 10 until emergence | 21 days
(range: 18–22 days) |
N/A |
Drone | up to Day 3 | up to Day 9½ | Day 10 | Day 10 until emergence | 24 days | approx. 38 days |
Excerpts from:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- - Farm Raised Rabbits
- - Farm Raised Quail
- - Honey Bee Educational Information
- --> What Is Pollination?
- --> What Are Pollinators?
- --> The Anatomy Of A Flower
- --> What Is Metamorphosis?
- --> Honey Bee Trivia
- --> What Does A Queen Honey Bee Look Like?
- --> How Do Honey Bees Communicate?
- --> What Causes Honey Granulation?
- --> Can I Feed My Baby Honey?
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