The life of a worker bee: taking care of the hive and more
The worker bees never stop, their tireless work includes numerous tasks
The life of a worker bee is truly amazing. These small animals are able to carry out endless tasks tirelessly. The worker bees , in particular, divide the work into various sections and which allow the coordination of an entire colony.
To survive, bees make sure that the hive is always a hospitable and warm place. The arrival of diseases could cause the death of the entire swarm. The hives are home to many individuals, up to 60,000!
For this reason it is very important to always keep the environment clean. In fact, bees spend a lot of time cleaning and are very meticulous animals. Otherwise, the arrival of a parasite or a disease would spread from one individual to another very quickly.
The role of worker bees , however, does not only revolve around hive care but there are many other tasks that are carried out consistently and without pauses. Among these, for example, there is the care of the queen bee .
Let's find out what the tasks of worker bees are , what queen bees do and how a swarm manages to survive.
The tasks of worker bees and queen bees
The tasks of worker bees are very different from those of queens. In the hive, the division of tasks is very strict. Each has a specific function.
Worker bees coordinate their work by dividing into groups. One part of them takes care of foraging and therefore of guaranteeing food reserves, another part, for example, takes care of protecting the hive from intruders. The work done by the workers is truly endless and later we will analyze the main tasks of the bees.
The role of a queen bee is limited to a single function: reproduction. Being the only fertile individual in the colony, the queen bee has the sole purpose of laying eggs and she will do so for the duration of her life.
What do drones do?
If workers' lives are hectic and tiring, we can't say the same for drones. The males of the colony in fact have a marginal role and cannot even survive autonomously. Again, it is the worker bees who take care of them, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to get food.
For this reason, the bees in the hive provide for their sustenance by feeding them and keeping them strong. Drones have no predefined jobs to do. They occasionally participate in hive heating and their only primary task is: mating .
The drones in fact have to fertilize the queen bee in turn during the nuptial flight . Once mating is complete, however, the drones go against death. In fact, nature was really cruel to these animals. After the act, in fact, the reproductive organ of the drones gets stuck in the queen due to the pressure to which it is subjected and detaches from the animal. For this reason, all male bees die after the nuptial flight .
How long does a worker bee live?
Having clarified the role of drones and queen bees, let's talk about workers again. Worker bees hatch from fertilized eggs laid by the queen. Their life is relatively short. In fact, a worker lives on average from 40 to 45 days . In case of shortage of food, their survival lasts even less.
During this time, the workers play a tireless role and dedicate themselves to everything! Do you think that a worker starts working as soon as she is born. In fact, as soon as it comes into the world, the very young bee already begins to take care of cleaning the empty cells , preparing the nest for future sisters.
The different tasks of bees in the hive
Depending on the age of a bee, the tasks to be performed change. The worker bees are divided into:
- Sweeper bees : they take care of keeping the hive clean;
- Nurse bees : are bees that feed the larvae with royal jelly or honey;
- Foraging bees : they carry pollen and nectar from the source to the hive.
- Scout bees : they travel in search of new food sources and communicate them to the swarm;
- Guardian bees : older bees exposed to risk from predators. They remain at the entrance to the hive to guard.
- Gravedigger bees : they are individuals who eliminate the corpses of other dead bees in order to avoid decomposition diseases.
- Fire bees : they take care of heating the hive and regulating the temperature.
The worker bees constantly take care of producing honey as a food supply for the entire colony. They then keep their queen healthy by providing her with any services. They keep her warm, feed her with royal jelly and provide for every need.
The coordination of work is really crazy. These wonderful animals are able to divide every task very well despite being very large groups.
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