About the Honey Bee
The honeybee family consists of:
- Queen Bee
- Drones
- Worker Bees
The queen bee is the largest bee and each hive has only one Queen. Her only purpose is to lay eggs which she will do continuously through her life (2 – 6 years). Once in her life, the queen will leave the hive and mate with up to 10 drones before returning to the hive. After this she will begin egg laying. Worker bees clean and feed the queen Royal Jelly for her entire life.
The drones are the only male bees in the hive and have no stinger. Their only job is to mate with the queen during her once in a lifetime mating flight. The drone dies once his task is complete. Usually there are only a few hundred drones in a hive of many thousands of bees.
Worker bees are all female. During their short life (4 – 6 weeks) they advance through various duties in the hive. Initially, worker bees look after the brood chamber and feed the drones and queen. They then work at receiving and storing the nectar; building honeycomb and cleaning the hive. Later they become honey ripeners and hive guards. Towards the end of their life, worker bees become foragers – collecting the nectar and pollen and bringing it back to the hive.