Bees are flying insects of the Apoidea superfamily. There are over 16,000 different species of bees. The European bee is among the best known, especially for the production of beeswax and honey.
They are social insects that live in colonies, which contain an average of 60,000 bees. Bees are eusocial, meaning that each colony has three groups or castes of bees: a fertile queen, drones, and sterile workers.
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Most bees in a hive are workers, while there are between 200 and 300 drones responsible for mating with the queen. The lifespan of a bee varies depending on its caste.
Bumblebees have the shortest lifespan because they die shortly after mating. Workers typically live between 45 and 60 days, but factors such as diet, weather conditions, individual health, and enemies affect their lifespan.
Like most insects, bees undergo a complete metamorphosis. Bees start out as eggs, before turning into larva, pupa and finally adult insects.
The queen bee forms a colony during the winter and starts laying eggs in the honeycomb. In addition, she determines which bees become drones or workers, choosing which eggs to fertilize. Fertilized eggs develop into workers, while unfertilized eggs develop into drones.
The eggs develop into larvae after three days. During this period, the larvae grow rapidly and do not leave the hive. During the first three days, the chicks feed on royal jelly, but after the fourth day, only potential queens are fed royal jelly while the rest feed on pollen it's honey. The larval stage lasts for a period of six days.
After six days, the larva begins to turn into a pupa. It starts to look like a bee, while it develops legs, wings and eyes. Also, fur begins to cover its body. During this phase, temperature affects pupae growth.
If the temperature drops, a pupa takes longer to develop. During the last phase, the pupae create a fine silken cocoon. The pupa stage lasts 12 days, but the queen transforms faster than drones and workers.
The lifespan of adult bees varies depending on the role and niche of the caste.
The queen bee lays eggs and produces the next generation of bees. During her lifetime, a queen can lay thousands of eggs. A queen bee lives between two and five years, but needs worker bees to provide shelter and food.
Worker bees are the smallest in size and make up the largest proportion of bees in a colony. In fact, there can be between 25,000 and 80,000 worker bees in a colony. The workers live between six and eight weeks, and their main responsibility is to care for the eggs until they hatch, feed the queen, and protect the hive.
Drones mate with the queen and die shortly after mating. In addition, drones that are unsuccessful in mating are expelled from the colony and end up dying of hunger and cold.
