Honey bee life cycle lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs. Each unfertilized egg contains a unique combination of 50% of the queen's genes and develops into a haploid drone. The fertilized eggs develop into either diploid workers or virgin queens if fed royal jelly. The average lifespan of a queen is three to four years; drones usually die upon mating or are expelled from the hive before the winter; and workers may live for a few weeks in the summer and several months in areas with an extended winter. The weight progression of the worker egg, larva: Honey bee life cycle The honey bee life
Honey bee and starves emerging bees. Destruction of honeycombs also result in honey leaking and being wasted. Both "G. mellonella" adults and larvae are possible vectors for pathogens that can infect bees, including the Israeli acute paralysis virus and the black queen cell virus. Temperature treatments are possible, but also distorts wax of the honeycombs. Chemical fumigants, particularly CO, are also used. The only domesticated species of honey bee are "A. mellifera" and "A. cerana", and they are often maintained, fed, and transported by beekeepers. In Japan, where "mellifera" is vulnerable to local hornets and disease, the Japanese honey bee "a. cerana