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The worker
Produced from a fertilised egg, it hatches in a classic hexagonal wax cell. Fed on royal jelly for the first 3 days, its diet then becomes a mix of pollen and honey.
The cell will be capped on day 9. Transformations will occur more slowly than for the queen. The adult bee – imago – will break through the wax cap to emerge within the colony 21 days after egg-laying.
The workers constitute the largest population in the colony (approximately 30,000 to 70,000 per hive) and have partially developed reproductive organs. In the colony in which they work tirelessly, they are responsible for a number of tasks essential to the smooth running of the hive. They carry out these tasks successively throughout the lives, unlike ants which each carry out one specific task.
The life expectancy of a worker varies according to the season. They live for around 45 days in spring and summer and for several months when born in autumn enabling them to live through winter.
|
Days |
Role |
Tasks |
|---|---|---|
|
Day 1 |
“Maintenance Agent” |
They clean the cells before the queen lays new eggs and keep the brood warm. |
|
Day 4 |
« Nurse » |
They start to feed the young larvae under 3 days old, then the queen larvae in the colony with royal jelly. After 3 days, the worker larvae are fed with a mix of honey and pollen. |
|
Day 8 |
« Architect » |
They build and maintain hive spaces using the wax glands under their abdomen. The term building bee is sometimes used. Did you know? For a colony to produce 100g of wax cells, requires 8000 hours of work and the consumption of 1kg of honey. |
| Day 10 to day 20 |
« Hive bee » |
Their role consists in storing pollen and nectar in the cells. |
|
Day 15 |
« Ventilator » |
They ventilate the hive by flapping their wings very quickly to maintain a satisfactory temperature and humidity level. |
|
Day 20 |
« Security guard » |
They keep watch at the entrance to the hive to chase away any intruders such as wasps, butterflies and drones from the month of August.. |
|
Day 21 to the end of their lives |
« Field bee » |
They fly from flower to flower to gather nectar, pollen and propolis. They can cover about 700km in 3 weeks, bringing back the riches of nature to the hive. Did you know? A field bee makes between 10 and over one hundred journeys per day depending on the proximity of flowers to the hive. |
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