Honey bees are highly sociable insects. A honey bee colony consists of three
types of adult bees: one queen, several drones, many workers, and brood (eggs,
larvae, and pupae). All of them live in a hive constructed of wax comb containing
many hexagonal cells; for managed hives, the comb is suspended within a frame,
which can be plastic or wood. Within the cells, the bees store pollen and honey, and
rear the brood (Table 1.1).
There is only one active queen bee per colony—a fertile female bee larger than
other bees and whose main responsibility is to reproduce by laying eggs to increase
and maintain colony size. The queen bee mates only once with several drones and
remains fertile for her lifespan, which can be several years. There are different
mechanisms to replace a queen if it dies, such as feeding a larva royal jelly and
allowing it to develop into a virgin queen, or adopting a queen exiting another
colony that already has a queen. Under managed conditions, beekeepers (apiarists)
will commonly purchase a fertilized queen bee from a reputable source.
Drone bees are fertile male bees and number approximately 300–800 per colony;
stingless and lacking the physiology to forage or build hive comb, the drone’s sole
purpose is to mate with a queen, and dies shortly after doing so.
Worker bees are the smallest and most numerous colony members, numbering
approximately 20,000–80,000 bees per colony and constituting over 98% of its
population. They are sterile, female, and are responsible for numerous duties that
are split between two main worker roles: house bee or foraging field bee. House bees
are responsible for hive upkeep including cleaning, brood feeding (as “nurse”
worker bees), caring for the queen, building hive comb and food storage, and
defense. Field bees are responsible for foraging, which is the retrieval of various
resources (pollen, nectar, propolis, water). House bees are typically young worker
Table 1.1 Queen, drone, and worker bees [7]
Queen
Drone
Worker
Sex
Female
Male
Female
Number
Typically one per
colony
~300 to 800
~20,000 to 80,000 (about
98% of the colony
population)
Fertility
Fertile
Fertile
Sterile
Stinger
Yes; only for fighting other queens
No
Yes; for colony defense.
Dies after issuing a sting
that pulls out the stinger
apparatus
Body size
Generally larger
than drone and
worker when mature
Larger than worker
Smallest
Anatomy
No pollen-collecting
apparatus
No pollen-collecting
apparatus
Has pollen-collecting apparatus (pollen basket)
Responsibility Mating and laying
eggs to produce all
the colony’s
offspring
Mate with a virgin queen
from another colony; dies
after successful mating
Hive upkeep, defense,
foraging
1 Understanding, Conservation, and Protection of Precious Natural Resources: Bees
7
types of adult bees: one queen, several drones, many workers, and brood (eggs,
larvae, and pupae). All of them live in a hive constructed of wax comb containing
many hexagonal cells; for managed hives, the comb is suspended within a frame,
which can be plastic or wood. Within the cells, the bees store pollen and honey, and
rear the brood (Table 1.1).
There is only one active queen bee per colony—a fertile female bee larger than
other bees and whose main responsibility is to reproduce by laying eggs to increase
and maintain colony size. The queen bee mates only once with several drones and
remains fertile for her lifespan, which can be several years. There are different
mechanisms to replace a queen if it dies, such as feeding a larva royal jelly and
allowing it to develop into a virgin queen, or adopting a queen exiting another
colony that already has a queen. Under managed conditions, beekeepers (apiarists)
will commonly purchase a fertilized queen bee from a reputable source.
Drone bees are fertile male bees and number approximately 300–800 per colony;
stingless and lacking the physiology to forage or build hive comb, the drone’s sole
purpose is to mate with a queen, and dies shortly after doing so.
Worker bees are the smallest and most numerous colony members, numbering
approximately 20,000–80,000 bees per colony and constituting over 98% of its
population. They are sterile, female, and are responsible for numerous duties that
are split between two main worker roles: house bee or foraging field bee. House bees
are responsible for hive upkeep including cleaning, brood feeding (as “nurse”
worker bees), caring for the queen, building hive comb and food storage, and
defense. Field bees are responsible for foraging, which is the retrieval of various
resources (pollen, nectar, propolis, water). House bees are typically young worker
Table 1.1 Queen, drone, and worker bees [7]
Queen
Drone
Worker
Sex
Female
Male
Female
Number
Typically one per
colony
~300 to 800
~20,000 to 80,000 (about
98% of the colony
population)
Fertility
Fertile
Fertile
Sterile
Stinger
Yes; only for fighting other queens
No
Yes; for colony defense.
Dies after issuing a sting
that pulls out the stinger
apparatus
Body size
Generally larger
than drone and
worker when mature
Larger than worker
Smallest
Anatomy
No pollen-collecting
apparatus
No pollen-collecting
apparatus
Has pollen-collecting apparatus (pollen basket)
Responsibility Mating and laying
eggs to produce all
the colony’s
offspring
Mate with a virgin queen
from another colony; dies
after successful mating
Hive upkeep, defense,
foraging
1 Understanding, Conservation, and Protection of Precious Natural Resources: Bees
7