More information about bees

Previous pages on bees have covered the following topics::

     

 

This page contains information on other bee issues.

The life cycle of bees

the life cycle of bees

Bees have a complex life cycle that is closely linked to their social structure and environment.

How long does a bee live?

The average age of a bee depends on the type of bee and when they pupated.
Queen: summer 3-4 years | winter 3-4 years
Dar: 22 days | winter 59 days
Worker bee: summer 36 days | winter 6 months

Egg and larva stage
The life cycle of a bee begins when the queen lays an egg. These eggs are laid in the cells of the honeycomb and within a few days the larvae hatch from the eggs. The larvae are fed by the worker bees, by a secretion from the glands of these bees. During this phase, the larvae undergo several moults as they grow.

An egg can become a worker or female but also a queen. The workers and queens are born from fertilised eggs, while the drone comes from an unfertilised egg. The DNA of drones is therefore identical to their mother, the queen, workers also have the DNA of their father. The queen carries DNA from several drones.

Pupation stage
After a few days, the larvae turn into pupae, enveloping themselves in a waxy cocoon. During this period, they undergo metamorphosis, developing into adult bees. The duration of this stage varies depending on the type of bee (worker, drone or queen).

Until the pupal stage, all bees are equal. They spend 3 days in an egg, then spend six days as a larva. From the pupal stage onwards, the development of workers, drones and queen diverges. The queen spends only 7 days in the pupal stage, while workers spend 12 days and drones even 15 days as a pupa. The queen is then fully grown after 16 days, while workers are fully grown after 21 days and drones even after 24 days.

Adult bees
After completing the pupation phase, the adult bees emerge. The first tasks of the new bees depend on their sex. Worker bees, which are female, start with tasks such as cleaning cells, feeding larvae, building wax combs, and collecting pollen and nectar. Daries, which are male, have the main function of fertilising the queen. The queen herself is responsible for laying eggs and maintaining cohesion within the hive.

Life span and functions
The lifespan of a bee varies greatly. Worker bees live only a few weeks in summer, while they can live longer in winter. Dwarfs live only during the breeding season and die shortly after mating, or they are removed from the hive in the post-season and die afterwards. The queen, on the other hand, can live for several years, laying eggs continuously.
A queen can live for 5 to 7 years. Workers live 6 to 8 weeks in summer and 6 to 8 months in winter. Daries, which are born only in summer, also live only 6 to 8 weeks. If they are still alive then, they are thrown out of the hive or killed.

Reproduction and swarming
When the bee population in the hive increases, the queen may swarm with some of the bees to establish a new colony. This process, called swarming, is a natural way for bees to maintain their population and colonise new locations.

Number of bees in a colony (hive)

In summer, a bee colony consists of: one queen, 40,000 – 50,000 workers and 500-4000 drones. In winter, the composition of the colony is different: one queen, only 10,000 – 20,000 workers and no drones, which have either died after mating or have been killed or thrown out of the colony.
The number of worker bees is less in winter than in summer, because the queen lays fewer fertilised eggs during the winter period and thus fewer worker bees