It’s important that she mates with enough drones to ensure genetic diversity within the colony and viable eggs/brood. This will provide enough sperm to last her a lifetime. A healthy queen can live for several years, but most often will last a maximum of 2 years.Īfter a queen emerges she will leave the hive on her virgin mating flight, and mate with several drones in a “drone congregation area”. Having this control is important for the wellbeing of the colony, as a colony has to contain a large population of workers to carry out the majority of the work. Unfertilized eggs develop into males (drones). If the queen lays a fertilized egg, it will develop into a female bee (worker or queen). The queen is able to determine the sex of the offspring that she produces by controlling the fertilisation of the eggs that she lays. Her long abdomen contains ovaries that are capable of producing large numbers of eggs for prolonged periods of time. She is the only bee that can lay fertilised eggs and hence she is considered to be the ‘mother’ of the colony. Her role is to lay eggs to produce more bees (up to 2000 per day during the summer months). The queen is the largest member of the colony. Honey Bees are Divided into Different “Castes” – The Queen, Workers, Drones, and Winter Bees. Currently, there are thought to be 24 recognised subspecies of the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, which is the honey bee present in the UK and Europe. Some bees are very easy to control while others are virtually uncontrollable, especially in the hands of a beginner. The subspecies differ in colour, temperament, productivity, resistance to pests and diseases and so forth. There are many different strains of the honeybee. The honeybee’s ability to survive on stored food during unfavourable seasons and to regulate the temperature of its nest independently of the temperature of the environment has enabled it to spread to most parts of the world. Normally, there are no drones in a colony during the winter months. The old queen and the flying bees leaving to form a new colony, and the new queen emerges and takes over in the original hive.ĭuring the winter, when there is little work to do, the colony population reduces to 15,000-20,000 workers and the queen. When population increases the colony may divide into 2 colonies. ![]() During winter, brood rearing either ceases, or is greatly reduced and the colony lives on the food stores it has accumulated during the summer.Īt the height of the summer there can be a population of 50,000 -60,000 workers in a colony, together with a few hundred drones and the queen. These are reared in wax combs – the well known honeycomb structures which also contain the colony’s food stores (pollen and nectar). Worker Bee Foragingįrom early in the year until late autumn, colonies will have developing young, (eggs, larvae, pupae), collectively known as brood. For three to four months in summer, a colony will also contain a few hundred males known as drones. Each colony contains one fertile female known as the queen, and many thousands of sterile females known as workers. Honey bees are social insects and live together in large colonies.
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