The Queen Bee: usually only one per hive is the only female bee to have fully functional ovaries and can lay up to 2000 eggs per day at a rate of 5-6 per minute during a hives build up period,
The Queen Bee: usually only one per hive is the only female bee to have fully functional ovaries and can lay up to 2000 eggs per day at a rate of 5-6 per minute during a hives build up period, usually in spring. She will lay about 1000 -1500 per day during the honey production season to maintain a hives numbers, replacing those bees who have died. Between 175000-200000 eggs are laid each year. A queen bee usually lives from two to four years but we have seen queens that are five years old. They lose their ability to maintain the hive numbers after a while so many beekeepers replace them every year or two. Sometimes the hive does this as well when they sense the queen is losing her ability to lay sufficient eggs. They do this by smell. A queen releases pheromones throughout her life which the bees use to identify their queen and hive as well as the state of the queen’s health. They don’t always get it right but neither do we.
The Worker Bee: female bees that do the actual work in the hive, from housekeeping and nursing of young brood in the early stages of life to field bees who collect the nectar, which is turned into honey, pollen to use as a protein source in their food and tree sap among other components which they turn into propolis. Propolis is used as a “glue” to seal the hive and it also has disinfectant and antibacterial qualities which help’s the hive maintain a nearly sterile environment. The worker bees also collect water for the hive. A worker bee lives for about 42 days or six weeks during the build up and honey flow seasons but the bees born in fall seem to have a different biology which allows them to live through the winter to start the early spring build up of the hive.
The Drone: the male bees in the hive which are the only stingless bee in the hive is there only for breeding purposes for future queens although they also seem to add to the general morale of the hive and can be an indicator of a healthy and “happy” hive. Unfortunately they are also the main breeding ground for the Varroa mite which prefers the drone brood for its breeding cycle since the drone spends the most time as a pupae. The drone bee lives th