bees, while field foragers are more mature worker bees. All worker bees have a sting
and usually die after using it.
Flower nectar converted into honey is the bees’ primary source of carbohydrates
for energy. Pollen or “bee bread” is their primary source of protein, fatty acids,
minerals, and vitamins, which are crucial for overall hive health and young bee
development [8].
Besides collecting pollen, nectar, water, and resin while foraging, worker bees
also produce “royal jelly” to raise a queen, secrete enzymes to ripen honey, and
produce wax for hive comb construction. One foraging worker bee makes a dozen or
more trips in a day, visiting several thousand flowers in a range of 2–5 miles away
from the hive. They typically limit themselves to one plant species per trip, which
aids in the pollination process. A foraging bee can return to its colony bearing a
pollen load weighing nearly 35% of its own body weight. The pollen gathered by
worker bee “pollen baskets” located on their legs is also a food supplement used by
humans and some other animals [7, 9].
2.2.2 Honey Bee Reproduction
Individual
Worker bees build hexagonal comb cells using wax produced from their wax glands,
and these cells serve as food storage for honey and pollen as well as incubation for
the bee brood. The “brood” consists of eggs, larvae, and pupae, which are the bees’
early developmental stages.
Sometime after her mating flight and being fertilized by multiple drones, the
queen bee lays one egg in each cell; in the spring and early summer, she may lay up
to 1500 eggs per day. Fertilized eggs become female worker bees (sterile), while
unfertilized eggs become male drones (fertile).
In 3 days, the egg hatches into a larva. Inside its beeswax cell, the larva is fed by
the “nurse” worker bees, and after a few days, the worker bees seal the cell with a
wax “cap.” After being capped, the larva enters the pupa or transformation stage,
where its grub-like form changes into an adult bee. The developed adult bee emerges
from the cell 7.5–14.5 days after the capping, depending on its caste [8].
Swarming
Swarming, essentially colony-level reproduction, is the process of forming a new
colony by leaving the parent colony and nesting in a new location. When environmental variables are favorable and food sources plentiful, a colony’s population will
increase to a certain point that causes crowding within the hive. At this point, the
bees will begin to raise a new queen. As the new queen reaches maturity, the original
queen flies away with a swarm consisting of at least half the existing worker bees and
some of the drones, while the new reared queen stays with the parent colony. When
8
C. Li
and usually die after using it.
Flower nectar converted into honey is the bees’ primary source of carbohydrates
for energy. Pollen or “bee bread” is their primary source of protein, fatty acids,
minerals, and vitamins, which are crucial for overall hive health and young bee
development [8].
Besides collecting pollen, nectar, water, and resin while foraging, worker bees
also produce “royal jelly” to raise a queen, secrete enzymes to ripen honey, and
produce wax for hive comb construction. One foraging worker bee makes a dozen or
more trips in a day, visiting several thousand flowers in a range of 2–5 miles away
from the hive. They typically limit themselves to one plant species per trip, which
aids in the pollination process. A foraging bee can return to its colony bearing a
pollen load weighing nearly 35% of its own body weight. The pollen gathered by
worker bee “pollen baskets” located on their legs is also a food supplement used by
humans and some other animals [7, 9].
2.2.2 Honey Bee Reproduction
Individual
Worker bees build hexagonal comb cells using wax produced from their wax glands,
and these cells serve as food storage for honey and pollen as well as incubation for
the bee brood. The “brood” consists of eggs, larvae, and pupae, which are the bees’
early developmental stages.
Sometime after her mating flight and being fertilized by multiple drones, the
queen bee lays one egg in each cell; in the spring and early summer, she may lay up
to 1500 eggs per day. Fertilized eggs become female worker bees (sterile), while
unfertilized eggs become male drones (fertile).
In 3 days, the egg hatches into a larva. Inside its beeswax cell, the larva is fed by
the “nurse” worker bees, and after a few days, the worker bees seal the cell with a
wax “cap.” After being capped, the larva enters the pupa or transformation stage,
where its grub-like form changes into an adult bee. The developed adult bee emerges
from the cell 7.5–14.5 days after the capping, depending on its caste [8].
Swarming
Swarming, essentially colony-level reproduction, is the process of forming a new
colony by leaving the parent colony and nesting in a new location. When environmental variables are favorable and food sources plentiful, a colony’s population will
increase to a certain point that causes crowding within the hive. At this point, the
bees will begin to raise a new queen. As the new queen reaches maturity, the original
queen flies away with a swarm consisting of at least half the existing worker bees and
some of the drones, while the new reared queen stays with the parent colony. When
8
C. Li