What do worker bees look like?
The structure of the bee colony is based on genetic polymorphism, determined by the purpose of the queens, drones and bees. Queens and drones are the keepers of information about the function of each individual in the hive. The drone is born from an unfertilized egg and has a set of 16 chromosomes, while the queen has a duplicate set of 32 chromosomes. The ploidy of worker bees is the same set of 32 chromosomes, and they are responsible for the sustenance of the entire colony.
A worker bee is a female insect that does not have the opportunity to mate. Her genitals are underdeveloped, for this reason she cannot reproduce and in the hive she performs work to ensure the life of the family.
It is worth noting that if a colony loses its queen and lives without her for a long time, then the worker bee may begin to develop ovaries. But they become tinder and can lay eggs, from which insects with 16 chromosomes will emerge - drones.
Links[edit]
- "List of foods dependent on bees for pollination". honeylove.org
. Retrieved November 23, 2022. - Jump up
↑ Finch, Caleb E. (May 16, 1994). Longevity, aging and the genome. University of Chicago Press. paragraph 70. ISBN 978-0-226-24889-9. - Adriana, Pianaro (2007). "Chemical changes associated with invasion of a Melipona scutellaris colony by Melipona rufiventris workers." Journal of Chemical Ecology
.
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(5):971–984. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-007-9274-5. PMID 17404819. S2CID 32195400. - Cunha, Marcos Guilherme yes; Franchin, Marcelo; Galvao, Livia Camarade Carvalho; Ruiz, AnaLuciaTuscagois de; Carvalho, Joao Ernesto de; Ikegaki, Masarahu; Alencar, Severino Matias de; Koo, Hyun; Rosalen, Pedro Luis (28 January 2013). "Antimicrobial and antiproliferative activity of the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris geopropolis". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
.
13
(1): 23. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6882-13-23. ISSN 1472-6882. PMC 3568042. PMID 23356696. - Guidoux, Valeria (December 15, 2004). Little bees. Gareth Stevens, LLLP Publishing. paragraph 18. ISBN 978-0-8368-4433-7.
- Segers, Francesca (17 January 2015). “The production of soldiers by stingless bees depends on the rearing site and the behavior of the nurse.” Behavioral ecology and sociobiology
.
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(4):613–623. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1872-6. S2CID 18594915. - Couvillon, M.J.; Wenseleers, T.; Imperatriz-Fonseca, L.; Nogueira-Neto, P.; Ratnieks, F. L. W. (2007). "A comparative study in stingless bees (Meliponini) demonstrates that nest entrance size predicts movement and defense". Journal of Evolutionary Biology
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(1): 194–201. DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01457.x. PMID 18021200. - Ratnieks, FLW; Helantera, H. (2009). "The evolution of extreme altruism and inequality in insect communities". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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364
(1533):3169–79. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0129. PMC 2781879. PMID 19805425. - Julia S. Jones, S. Fruciano, J. Marchant, F. Hildebrand, S. Forslund, P. Bork, P. Engel, WOH Hughes (May 2018). "The gut microbiome is linked to behavioral task in honey bees". Insectes Sociaux
.
65
(3):419–429. DOI: 10.1007/s00040-018-0624-9. PMC 6061168. PMID 30100619. CS1 maint: multiple names: list of authors (link) - Julia S. Jones, S. Fruciano, F. Hildebrand, H. Al Toufalilia, NJ Balfour, P. Bork, P. Engel, VPT Ratnieks, WOH Hughes (November 2017). "The composition of the gut microbiota in honey bees is linked to the ecological landscape". Ecology and evolution
.
8
(1):441–451. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3597. PMC 5756847. PMID 29321884. CS1 maint: multiple names: list of authors (link) - Ducker, James (July 13, 2017). "Manchester United and City will wear the 'Worker Bee' badge during the friendly to raise money for Manchester bombing victims" - via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ↑
Cooper, Matthew (23 May 2022).
"What is a Manchester bee?" . men
. - "Why the worker bee is a symbol of Manchester". innews.co.uk
. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022. - "'Peaceful but not tangled' - how the bee became a symbol of Manchester". The keeper
. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- The Honey Files: The Life of a Bee, Study Guide
, National Honey Board, 2001. - Bee Colony Organisation, FAO
Stages of worker bee development
The development period of a working individual lasts 21 days, its weight can vary from 90 to 120 grams, and its body is shorter than the body of the uterus - only 14 mm. Her body and organs are adapted to the work she does. This is an elongated proboscis for collecting nectar, well-developed wax glands and a sting that is used to protect the family.
How does development proceed? It's simple. In the first 3 days of life, the larva lives in the egg, and on the fourth, the nurse bee destroys the egg with a drop of royal jelly. In the first 72 hours after hatching from the egg, the insect is not engaged in any work; it feeds on milk, then a slurry of water, nectar and honey.
On day 9, the larva no longer fits in its cell and begins to straighten. At this time, the cell is resealed and the larva awaits another 12 days of the pupal stage. That's it, after 21 days, having destroyed the cell shell, a new worker bee enters the hive.
Krajina or karnika
The body color of bees is gray with a silvery tint. The length of the proboscis is 6.4 - 6.8 mm. The weight of the fetal uterus is 205 mg. Maximum fertility is 1.4 - 2.0 thousand eggs per day.
Natural habitat - areas of the South-Eastern Alps, Yugoslavia, Austria. Currently, it is widely used in many countries of the world, including our country. The Krajina bees seem to combine the characteristics of the Carpathian and gray Caucasian mountain bees.
They are more winter-hardy than the Caucasian ones, but are significantly inferior in this regard to the Central Russian ones. They are calm and peaceful. They develop quickly in the spring and therefore effectively use early honey plants.
Malorolivy (from 3 to 30%). They easily switch (using anti-swarm measures) from a swarm state to a working state, from the worst source of honey collection to the best. They put the honey first in the brood part of the nest, and then in the store part. Red clover pollinates well.
Bees of the Krajina breed are enterprising in finding sources of honey collection and are able to quickly switch from the worst source to the best. They are significantly superior in winter hardiness to the gray mountain Caucasian bees, somewhat inferior in this indicator to the Central Russian ones.
Krajina bees use early honey collection more effectively than others, in particular from winter rapeseed and fruit and berry crops, promoting pollination of the latter. At the same time, they are able to make full use of later medical collections.
Unlike other breeds, they weakly polis their nests. Honey collection from meadow clover is used very well, second only to gray Caucasian mountain bees in this indicator. These bees are ideal for breeding in the central and southern regions of Russia with light, long-term honey flows.
What are the responsibilities of the young, and when does it go on its first flight?
Already on the 2-3rd day, the worker bee begins to prepare and clean the cells for new brood, for honey or bee bread.
In the first 24 hours after the destruction of the cell, the young insect does not perform any work
After 3 days of such work, the young insect is already busy preparing food and feeding the grown 3-day-old larvae. And by the 6th day of life, the bee’s body begins to produce milk, which it feeds the smallest representatives of the brood.
Days 10–12 may be the time of the first flight, which may go unnoticed by the beekeeper due to the crowd of adults. It is good to distinguish young insects in August-September, when the main honey flow takes place.
On the 12th day, the young animals no longer produce milk, so they begin to engage in adult work:
- receiving nectar from foragers;
- processing nectar into honey;
- folding processed nectar into cells and sealing them;
- building honeycombs from wax, which they produce themselves.
Content
- 1 Life cycle
- 2 Swarm behavior
- 3 Progress of tasks 3.1 Cleaning cells (days 1-2)
- 3.2 Nurse (days 3–12)
- 3.3 Wax production (days 13–18)
- 4.1 Honey sealing
Time of first flight as pickers
Already on the 15th day, the young animals leave the hive, setting off on their first flight to collect water and nectar, glue and pollen. Sometimes the duties of bees may change depending on the season. In the absence of work in the hive, the young fly out earlier to collect nectar. And if there is a large amount of brood in the hive, especially during the honey season, then an adult bee can engage in raising young animals.
When worker bees leave the hive, they remember its location well. And if during their absence the beekeeper rearranged the hive (this need often arises so as not to procrastinate), then the insects will fly to the nearest one. Someone else's family allows new residents in only if they return from gathering with nectar or water. Otherwise, the stranger is killed.
Swarm behavior[edit]
When a colony escapes (all bees leave the colony) or divides and thus creates a swarm and then creates a new colony, the bees must regress in their behavior to create the first generation in the new home. The most urgent task will be the creation of new beeswax for honeycombs. Comb is much more difficult to obtain than honey and requires about six times more energy to create. A newly reared swarm on bars (top-bar hive) or empty foundation (Langstroth box hive) will often be fed sugar water, which they can then quickly consume to create wax for a new comb. (Mature hives should not be fed this way as they will store it instead of nectar, although a hive overwintering may need to be fed if the beekeeper has left insufficient honey.)
Worker bees are the basis of a strong honey colony
The strength of the colony directly depends on the number of worker bees (data are given for spring indicators of the number of insects):
- Less than 18 thousand individuals – the family is weak.
- From 18 to 25 thousand individuals - a family of average strength.
- From 25 to 45 thousand - a strong family.
In summer, these figures increase by 25-50 thousand individuals for a family of each level. For example, a strong family can have up to 100 thousand worker insects. And in the fall their numbers decrease again.
Worker bees are the main producers of all useful substances and products. These are honey, propolis, wax and pollen, as well as poisons.
Symbolism[edit]
Bee art in the northern quarter of Manchester
The worker bee is a symbol of Manchester, England. [11] [12] It was adopted as a motif for Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, a time when Manchester was playing a leading role in new forms of mass production, and symbolizes the hard work of the people of Manchester during this era, and Manchester was a beehive. activities in the 19th century. [13] [14]
Following the attack at Manchester Arena on Monday 22 May 2017, the bee emblem gained popularity as a public symbol of unity against terrorism, appearing on banners and graffiti.
The song "Worker Bees" by Canadian rock band Billy Talent (from their 2006 album Billy Talent II
) criticizes the actions of the US military during its ongoing invasion of the Middle East; comparing it to the hive mind mentality of worker bees.
How long does a worker bee live?
Due to the heavy loads, the life expectancy of this class of bees is quite short. Thus, during the main summer honey collection, the insect lives only 5 weeks, although this indicator also depends on internal metabolism. Also, the biological lifespan is affected by the amount of work assigned to one insect. In strong families, wear and tear is less (life cycle up to 60 days), and in weak families - more (life cycle does not exceed 26 days).
The nature of the work performed has a direct impact on:
- Exhausting work - raising young animals and brood.
- But the preparation and processing of food is not dangerous, and the insect lives longer with such work.
Scientists have proven that during the “hot” working season, insects’ wings wear out. The fact is that, after flying 800 km, worker bees can no longer fly.
Bees that emerge in the fall have the longest life expectancy. They do not participate in honey collection and brood rearing; their life cycle can last from 7 to 9 months. Despite the short life cycle of workers, they do not die out. The family constantly maintains a balance between young and old insects due to the constant birth of young animals.
Drones
Despite the fact that there are many legends about the idle life of the drone, its existence can be called rather meager. Moreover, in the process of fulfilling his direct obligations, he dies, like all bees that lose their sting.
The drone's task is not to fly to feed and rest. It is responsible for reproductive function, albeit indirectly. During the flight, he needs to find an unfertilized uterus. After mating, the developed female literally tears out his reproductive apparatus. The result of this action is the death of the individual.
If the drone has not found a queen for fertilization, then it will live normally until the onset of frost. Then, since the hive must be sealed to protect itself from the cold, all individuals that are not performing any duties are simply taken outside, where they also die. At the same time, worker bees are a kind of executioners, since they will be the ones who will have to cleanse the families of additional and useless “hungry mouths”.
Description and features
Everyone knows from childhood that honey is a healthy, nutritious and amazing product. It does not deteriorate, being stored for centuries, it treats a huge variety of diseases, and contains a whole set of substances essential for health and unique enzymes.
Every child also knows that honey is naturally produced by insects called bees. This substance is flower nectar, transformed in a special way, that is, digested to a certain stage in the crop of these small honey-bearing creatures.
Our story is about bees - tireless in their hard work, insects that supply not only humans, but also many other creatures on Earth with such a valuable and irreplaceable product.
A bee is an insect about 3 cm in size. Its color scheme is composed of black stripes, which alternate with yellow-orange areas. These creatures are completely covered with hairs that perform protective functions and play the role of organs of touch.
Thanks to bees, people receive a valuable and healthy product - honey.
Their body is divided into three sections, fastened together by elastic thin membranes. The first is the small head; Next comes the chest - the torso area is a little larger; and the last section and the most significant in size is the abdomen.
All these parts of the body are perfectly shown in the photo of a bee . In addition, these creatures have six legs and are endowed with two pairs of thin wings that differ in size, connected to each other in flight by means of microscopic hooks.
The bee's senses are extremely interesting and complex. First of all, these include the eyes, of which there are essentially five. Two compound eyes, clearly visible on both sides of the head, are built from small facets. Their number is enormous, amounting to thousands of microscopic elements.
An interesting feature of the bee is the presence of five eyes.
There are three simple eyes, they are located on the crown of the insect. And all these components of the visual organs allow the bee to perceive polarized light and rays of the ultraviolet spectrum. These creatures are able to see blue and yellow colors, which cannot be said about shades of red.
The antennae on their heads serve as olfactory organs; in addition, they help them sense cold and heat, determine humidity and the concentration of gases in the air. Bees hear with their legs and some parts of the body. The long proboscis on the head allows them to collect flower nectar, and taste organs are also located on it.
Bees belong to the large order Hymenoptera. And they are related to wasps, similar to them in many structural features. Also, ants are considered close relatives of the described creatures and their brothers in the order, although they do not belong to the category of insects similar to bees .
Rather, some species of flies resemble our honey-bearing creatures in appearance, for example, the so-called hoverfly. It also has a striped abdomen with orange areas, and also makes a similar buzzing sound. This is a striking example of a simple, often described by biologists, mimicry.
That is, nature endowed such a fly with the appearance of poisonous insects, which includes the bee, for the purpose of self-defense. Therefore, at a superficial glance, it is easy to confuse a bee with a hoverfly.
Lifestyle and habitat
Bees take root in any area of the planet where flowers grow. They are the main source of their nutrition. And it is from plant nectar, as already mentioned, that these insects produce honey. It is no secret that for flowers these creatures also play an important role as natural and most active pollinators. And many species of earthly flora without bees would not be able to exist and reproduce successfully.
Where the domestic representatives of the kingdom of these insects live has already been mentioned - in beehives . But their wild relatives try to settle down in forest hollows, crevices, and burrows. If the climate of the area is quite mild, then the bee's nest is most often simply suspended high in the trees. Sometimes they are located between walls or in the attic of houses.
The nests of the described insects are structures made of double-sided vertical honeycombs. And without them it is impossible to even imagine the life of a bee colony (that is, a swarm, as such colonies are usually called).
Wild bees choose hollows and crevices in trees for nesting.
Such cells, which have the correct shape and look like a hexagon, are built from the wax secreted by these insects. Each type of bee has its own honeycomb size, usually corresponding to the size of the insects themselves.
And the inhabitants of the nest always carefully monitor their integrity. When fresh, that is, initially, the cells have a white tint, but over time they darken.
These insects live in colonies, the members of which are divided into castes. But the types that make up the bee family should be described in more detail.
1. Worker bees are the most numerous caste, the representatives of which mainly make up the bee nest. These are what we usually see in everyday life, when we are in nature. The number of this type of inhabitants in a nest can reach up to 80 thousand.
What do bees do ? They do the main work, that is, searching for suitable plants and extracting nectar from them. All working insects are underdeveloped females. They appear precisely and only from fertilized eggs.
2. Queen - this creature in the bee family is the only full-fledged female. And all the other members of the swarm come from her. Since the queen gives life to the entire community, she is in a revered position, therefore she feeds on worker bees and is carefully guarded by them.
This is natural, because without a uterus, family members are at risk of extinction. The others recognize that the swarm has it by the smell emanating from it. If this is not observed, this serves as an alarm that the uterus has died and a new one needs to be grown.
3. Drones are males whose purpose is to fertilize the uterus, and they have no other duties. They are larger than the working members of the family and emerge from unfertilized eggs. And much more food is used to fatten them.
Therefore, if they are no longer needed, the drones are mercilessly expelled by other family members. Sometimes they end up in other nests. But during the onset of cold weather, when the collection of flower nectar and active reproduction ends, they have no choice but to die from hunger and cold.
The rest of the bees in winter are also suddenly forced to change their usual way of life. Beekeepers take care of keeping domestic insects. And their wild counterparts become saturated with wax and propolis and climb into the cracks.
