Friday, September 9, 2011

Bee Lifecycle

In the second article, The Life Cycle of a Bee, I found it interesting that the egg has such a structured four days. It is straight, then bent, then on it's side, and then hatches into a larva. Another thing that I found very interesting was the colour of the young adult bees. I thought bees were all the same in colouring, however this article taught me that new adults are light in colour and greyish. I also found it very fascinating that bees have such organized roles for their different ages such as how until the approximate age of 21 days they stay in the hive and only then do they become field bees.
Next time I'm in the apiary I will look to see what day the egg is at by its position. I'll also try to identify the different roles the worker bees play in and out of the hive, whether it's in the garden or in the apiary.
This article made me curious as to how the bees know when they have to change jobs and how to do their new job.
I also wonder how bees evolved to be so efficient and if they once worked differently as a hive.

1 comment:

  1. I think the egg position is a bit of a function of the quality of the queen as well. Theoretically they're supposed to start straight up and down, but some queens "misfire" and they wind up a bit diagonal.

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