Behind Closed Doors - Life in the Hive

Behind Closed Doors A honeybee colony is always busy. There's never a dull moment in the life of a bee. Always regimented and ever productive, the honeybees that produce propolis are on-the-go from dusk 'til dawn. LIFE IN THE HIVE For worker bees, duties begin from birth - yes, birth. Job number one is to clean the cell in which they were born. From then on, each day is packed with chores to keep them occupied. 1-2 days old Cleans cells & keeps the brood warm. 22+ days old Freedom beckons! Worker bees are free 3-5 days old to fly from the hive, pollinating plants and collecting pollen, Feeds older larvae. nectar and water. TO DO LIST 6-11 days old Feeds youngest larvae. 18 - 21 days old Things get serious at this stage of the worker bee's life as they have responsiblity of guarding the hive entrance. 12-17 days old At this stage the worker bee is ready to start producing wax, building honeycomb and carrying food. BY MID-SUMMER THE HIVE CAN BE НОМЕ ТО UР TO 35,000 HONEYBEES HER ROYAL HIGHNESS The queen bee is very special and has an extremely important job. She is responsible for keeping the colony populated and throughout April and May she lays eggs day and night. Contrary to popular belief, the queen bee does not "rule" the colony and is not considered of higher rank by the other bees, but her function is crucial, so she is afforded a high level of protection 5- Each fertilised egg is stored in an individual wax cell 5mm in diameter Unfertilised eggs are stored in larger cells reaching 7mm in diameter mm mm The eggs hatch 21 days after being laid & produce worker bees, which are all female Within 24 days they become drone bees which are all male If a new queen is required due to the death of the current queen, a special cell which hangs vertically within the hive will be used to birth her Drone bees are destined to meet a rather sad end. As they do not work or contribute to the colony, when summer ends drone bees are pushed out of the hive and die in the cold weather. On average the queen will lay an egg every 20 seconds - sounds exhausting! COMPLETING THE CYCLE SUMMER AUTUMN Honeybees are busiest in the Bees born in the Autumn are summer and those bees born afforded a longer life span and during the summer months will only live for around 40 days. will survive through to the following spring. #1 There is only ever one queen bee within any honeybee colony. The reason for this has not been determined but any attempts to introduce a second queen typically results in her death. Please feel free to use this infographic ensuring you provide credit /a link to: www.herstat.com Herstat