Before the buzz:

Within the honeybee colony, the queen holds the ultimate power of reproduction. She will lay one egg every 20 seconds and has the capabilities to lay 2000 eggs each day. These eggs are placed in one of three different kinds of comb nests. Worker bees will hatch from the standard low hexagonal shapes. Drones hatch from slightly bigger comb that are shaped like small eggs that extend out from the same comb that workers come from. When the laying queen is close to death, or if the colony is planning on swarming, the queen will lay an egg in a special queen cup that is built over multiple hexagonal comb sections. While all eggs are fed royal jelly, only potential queens will continually be fed royal jelly until they hatch.

The stages of the bees before hatching are the same as any other insect. They go through three stages of egg, to larva, to pupa.

Drone:

Drones are the male bees of the colony. They are bigger and have rounder bodies compared to worker bees. Drones make up less than 15% of colony population. They have a haploid chromosome number because they come from an unfertilized egg. This means that while some drones are hatched from the queen’s egg, others come from laying workers. The drone’s one job is to mate with other queens from different colonies. Drones are also incapable of feeding themselves and it is the job of the worker bees to keep them alive. Because of the drones’ lack of responsibilities, during the winter the workers will choose to kick some of them out of the hive in order to save their honey supply for themselves and their queen.

Worker:

All worker bees are female. They maintain every responsibility within the hive except for laying eggs because they are sexually undeveloped. In the first three weeks of their lives, workers attend the hive as nurse bees. Nurse bees care for the young brood by feeding them pollen brought back to the hive by foraging workers and inspect the wax comb for the queen to lay her eggs. A nurse bee will also secrete the wax needed to form comb and clean the inside of the hive. Towards the end of her three weeks as a nurse bee, she will act as a guard bee for the entrance of the hive. She protects the hive from curious workers from other colonies who carry a different queen’s pheromone. After her time as a guard bee, she spends the rest of her life acting as a forager. Every day when the temperature reaches above 57°F, she leaves the hive to search for food for herself and to bring back to the colony. These workers also contribute to making honey. The worker bee will live four to six weeks during the spring and up to six months during the winter.

Queen:

 In each colony, there is one queen. Shortly after the queen hatches she will leave the hive for her nuptial flight. This is the one and only time that she will leave except in the case if the colony decides to swarm. During this flight, she travels to a drone congregation area and mates with up to 20 drones. Back at the hive, she will lay eggs, eat honey, and be followed by her group of queen attendants, a group of bees in charge of protecting her from harm.

Mating:

Reproduction of the honeybee signifies many important things. The queen’s nuptial flight is the sign of the beginning of her life and the responsibilities she holds within the hive as well as it is the end of many drones’ lives. Within their congregation area, drones will wait for the queen to fly by. The fastest drones will catch up with the queen to mate with her mid-air. After the drone’s sperm has been released, his entire endophallus is ripped out of his body and he falls to the ground to die. Each interaction between the queen and her partner lasts less than five seconds. The bulb of the penis than breaks inside the queen to prevent sperm from falling out. The next drone will then latch onto the queen and the cycle continues.

After the queen returns to the hive, her glands become functional and she begins producing a pheromone that the other bees will recognize as their queen. The scent is spread through the antennas of each bee in the hive. These pheromones are essential to communication within the colony and honey production. In the case that the queen was missing from the inside of the hive or if she died, the workers would quickly be aware of her absence and act accordingly by raising a new queen.

Balling:

Towards the end of the queen’s lifespan, she will begin laying eggs in queen cups to produce a new queen. After the new queen hatches, the workers (her very own children) will surround the queen and kill her with their own heat. This act is referred to as balling. During this time, the bees will lock together and become impossible to disconnect until the deed is done. The excessive heat will kill the queen in less than 20 minutes and the new queen will take her place.

Stinging:

 Bees are stereotyped for being aggressive creatures. However, the only time they show harm to another is during a time of necessary procedures (such as balling) or when they feel fear. A honeybee’s choice to release its stinger is a choice to die defending the hive. Abdominal muscles punch the stinger through the skin and venom is pumped through the stinger by the contraction of said muscles. The tension that occurs between a predator’s skin and the attempt of the bee to retract its stinger from it, results in the removal of the bee’s organs. The venom bulb attached to the internal guts of the bee pull a string of liquid goop out of the bee resulting in an instant death.

The venom released contains melittin: a product intended to cause hurt. Melittin bursts the blood vessels and damages tissues. In response, the human body releases histamines that defend against the venom. They then produce itching and intense swelling of the local area. The enzymes phospholipase A2 and hyaluronidase allow the toxins to spread pain further through the body. Human pheromones are then released from the body because of the neurotransmitters of dopamine and norepinephrine that instill fear and excitement. This pheromone is detected by the nearby colony and raises alert. The stinger and detached venom sack of the sacrificed bee emit a signal that the aware colony will follow to the location of the sting. The human fear pheromone, along with the venom sack, encourages the other bees to release their own stingers. This biological response is nature’s safety net to ensuring the continuation of the colony. A few bees down is a small sacrifice for the tens of thousands that will continue raising brood and collecting nectar.

Propolis and healing:

 Propolis is the honeybee’s medicinal cure for all. The sticky resin they create is used for injury and for protection of the hive. In the hive, any space smaller than 3/8 inch is filled with propolis, while any space bigger, is an invite for building comb. Propolis can rid bees of disease and keep the hive free of outside pests. Honeybees are extremely clean and remain healthy by keeping a sanitary hive.

Swarming:

Thanks to popular culture, a swarm of bees is commonly used as an expression to describe a violent, aggressive display of buzzing. But in reality, a swarm of bees is the time to catch bees at their most peaceful. In between homes, the colony’s one goal is the protection of the queen and the relocation of their nest. Before flight, the bees gorge on their stores of honey. They will then leave the hive in search of a bigger home to fit their growing colony. With the queen in the middle, the workers will tightly surround her for protection. Their only goal during this time is to find a new home. Blissfully full of honey, they are uninterested in possible threats such as humans. Often when bees swarm, beekeepers will try to catch them and take them to a new hive.