Bees are essential for the reproduction of flowers, as they spread pollen. In addition, they are producers of honey, a process they carry out by themselves in their hive. They are social insects with a strict hierarchy that is organized in a matriarchy, where the queen bee determines all decisions, including the sexual development of her subjects.
How do bees reproduce? On our site we have prepared this article with all the details about the types of bees, the function that they fulfill and their way of multiplying. Keep reading!
Bee Division
Before explaining how bees reproduce, it is necessary to know how they are divided in the hive, since they are organized in a well-defined society in which each individual fulfills specific functions. To know the types of bees depending on the species, consult this other article.
These are the divisions found in bee hives:
Queen bee
The queen bee is the matriarch of the hive and mother of all the bees that form it. She is the only fertile female, so only she breeds. But how does a bee become a queen? When they are still larvae, certain bees are selected and reared in larger vertical cells than those used for worker bees.
When it goes from larva to pupa, the bee devours her cell to get out of it, after which she faces other possible queen bees to determine who will be the leader of the hive. The queen bee lives between 3 and 5 years and constantly releases pheromones that help her control the activities of the hive.
The queen bee is distinguished by being larger and longer than the rest, it has well-developed ovaries and a blunt stinger.
Drone Bee
The drones are the only males in the hive, their task is to fertilize the female for reproduction. The fastest males are preferable, as the result will be more agile and faster bees. The males come from unfertilized eggs, so their participation in the mating ritual is crucial. This is how worker bees are born.
The drone bee is capable of reproducing 24 days after hatching and can visit several honeycombs, thus trying to mate with as many queen bees as possible. They are characterized by a rectangular body, large eyes, and the lack of a stinger. Apart from participating in reproduction, they perform some functions to keep the young warm and participate in the production of honey.
After fertilizing the queen bee, the drone dies, as its reproductive apparatus detaches. Those that survive die out in the open, as they are not allowed to re-enter the hive.
Worker bee
This type of bee is found by the thousands in each hive. They are all females and infertile They take 21 days to hatch after the queen lays the fertilized eggs. After that time bees are born smaller than the mother and with atrophied reproductive systems. Only in cases of loss or sudden death of the queen, some worker bees are able to lay eggs to hatch drones.
They live between 75 and 120 days and perform various functions within the hive: they make honey, clean the cells, feed the sisters that are in the larval stage, produce royal jelly (exclusive food for queen bees), build the honeycomb, store food, protect the honeycomb and dehydrate the nectar.
Bee reproduction
The reproduction of these insects is full of curiosities about bees, since they have a fairly structured system to ensure the perpetuation of the hive. The queen bee leaves the hive 5 days after leaving her cell and fighting with possible competitors. This is the only time she will leave the hive, her goal is to make the fertilization flights or nuptial flights
For 3 days, the female will fly to mate with the various drones. The sexual organ of males detaches and the queen stores the sperm in a "depot" that contains her body, the spermatheca There she is capable of storing up to 5 million of spermatozoa, the ones necessary to lay eggs for the rest of their lives.
Once the mating period is over, the queen bee returns to the hive. After 5 days, she begins to lay eggs, some fertilized (worker bees) and others unfertilized (drones). The mechanism that she uses to fertilize some eggs and not others is currently unknown. In one day, the queen bee is able to lay 1500 eggs, so this is the most important task in her life
Discover more on the life cycle of honey bees!
Birth of the bees
If the queen bee is he althy and young and has successfully mated, most of the eggs she will lay will be fertilized, with the goal of increasing or maintaining the number of worker bees These bees nest in smaller cells than the one used by the queen, where they are cared for by older workers who act as nurses.
After 6 days, the worker becomes a larva and after 12 days a pupa, this is how bees are born. At 21 days, the pupa becomes an adult worker bee and begins to fulfill different functions within the hive. Discover the details of the entire process in this other article: "How are bees born?".
The youngest are in charge of cleaning the cells, then they take on waxing functions and are in charge of building panels and cells, and after reaching 21 days of adulthood they are ready to leave the hive and r collect pollen, nectar and water Depending on the time of year, it will live more or less days before being replaced by more worker bees, because bee breeding does not stop.
