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
Western honey bee stomachs, is converted with the addition of digestive enzymes and storage in a honey cell for partial dehydration. Nectar and honey provide the energy for the bees' flight muscles and for heating the hive during the winter. Honey bees also collect pollen, which after being processed to bee bread supplies protein and fat for the bee brood to grow. Centuries of selective breeding by humans have created bees which produce far more honey than the colony needs, and beekeepers (also known as apiarists) harvest the surplus honey. Beekeepers provide a place for the colony to live and store honey. There