Why are worker bees not fertile bees? Let's find out more
The workers are female bees but cannot reproduce. Let's understand why
worker bees are female bees that are infertile. But why can't worker bees reproduce? In the hives, nature has created some very unusual mechanisms.
In a bee colony, worker bees are all female but cannot lay fertilized eggs. The reason for this inhibition is given by the fact that there is only one female in the hive who is entrusted with the task of reproduction, which is the queen bee. All the other females in the hive have defined and different jobs.
How bees reproduce: here's the explanation
How do bees reproduce if they can't lay their eggs? Bees reproduce only through the queen bee.
Since the workers cannot reproduce, this task is entrusted to their queen. In the event that a hive is orphaned and therefore in the event that the queen bee dies, the swarm would go against certain death. In fact, the queen bee is the one who guarantees a constant turnover of individuals over the years.
When the queen bee lays its eggs, it adjusts itself according to the needs of the colony, so it is she who runs the hive and makes sure that there is a sufficient number of worker bees and drones. The queen bee can decide in advance the sex of the new bees. Females will be born from fertilized eggs while only males will be born from unfertilized eggs and therefore drones.
The fact that the queen bee is the only fertile female in the hive is motivated by a precise element: it is the only one to have fully developed ovaries and spermatheca. All queen bees in fact come to a body shape different from that of the workers.
The reproductive organs of worker bees and queen bees develop when all of them are still larval. The maggot destined to become queen gets royal jelly as food throughout its life. The workers, on the other hand, are mainly fed with honey and pollen.
It is royal jelly that allows the queen to develop her reproductive system in full form. A queen bee lays up to 2,000 eggs a day and can live up to five years, while worker bees live a couple of months.
Queen Bees: the only bee in the colony capable of generating fertilized eggs
We understand that queen bees are the only ones that can produce fertilized eggs from which new workers will be born.
And how do queens fertilize eggs? The answer is: through coupling. Queen bees mate only once during their lifetime through the nuptial flight .
During this flight, the queen mates with a large number of drones, which in turn release their seed into the queen's body.
The queen bee therefore manages to store enough seed in its spermateca (which in Latin means "seed bag") to be able to fertilize eggs for the rest of its life. When she returns to the hive, the queen bee is fertileand can begin depositing fertilized eggs in her cells through her sting.
The role of worker bees
The worker bees are sterile females and take care of meeting all the needs of the hive and their sovereign. The worker bees produce honey, pollen, wax and royal jelly, which feed the larvae and take care of maintaining an optimal temperature. In addition to this, the workers take care of the hive, clean it and protect it from enemies and intruders. The drones, on the other hand, have a marginal role and participate in the life of the colony only during the nuptial flight. Once mated with the queen, the male bees die.
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