Worker honey bees

These are truly the super bees of honey bees as they perform more than dozen specialized roles inside and outside the hive. All worker bees are females and they don't usually reproduce. Their average life span is 5-7 weeks and the vast majority (80-99%) of the colony is worker bees.

 

Worker bee duties during their brief lives:

· cleaning

· nursing

· attending the queen

· building honeycomb

· receiving pollen and nectar

· pollen packing

· nectar ripening

· comb capping

· hive repair

· ventilation and temperature regulating

· dead bee removal (they fly these hundreds of feet away

from the hive as dead bees attract pests and pathogens)

· guarding and defending their hive

· foraging

· foraging for new colony sites

 

Worker bee roles change based on their age and the needs of the hive. These honey bees can and will sting if threatened, however, they usually are very peaceful and docile.

 

 

 

Done