The life cycle of honey bees consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs are laid by the queen bee and can be fertilized or unfertilized. Fertilized eggs become worker bees or queen bees, while unfertilized eggs become male drones. Larvae emerge from eggs and develop through four molting stages before forming a pupa. Inside the sealed pupa case, the larvae undergoes metamorphosis to emerge as adult bees. The life cycle takes longest for queen bees and shortest for worker bees.

2. Life cycle of honey bee
A. The life cycle of honey-bees consist of four developmental stages i.e
i. Egg
ii. Larvae
iii. Pupa
iv. Adult/Imago
B. The development of honey-bees is Complete metamorphosis/ Indirect metamorphosis/
Holometabolus type of metamorphosis.
C. Larva differs greatly in form from adult. Compound eyes are absent in larva. Lateral ocelli or
stemmata are the visual organs. Their mouth parts and food habit differ from adults. Wing
development is internal. When the larval growth is completed, it transforms into pupa. During
the non-feeding pupal stage, the larval tissues disintegrate and adult organs are built up.

3. D. Queen deposits egg at the base of cell and fastens with mucilaginous secretion. After 3 days egg
hatches and workers provide pearly white food in which “C” shaped larva floats. Cell is sealed when
larva is fully grown. In the sealed cell it turns into pupa from which adult emerges. Larva sheds skin
five times during development. The sealed cells containing worker and drone brood and honey can
be differentiated on the basis of appearance.
E. In a comb, workers rear brood in the central part where temperature can easily be maintained
and honey is stored in the upper and peripheral part. Pollen is stored around brood area so that it is
easily available for rearing brood. Drone brood area can be differentiated from worker brood as the
sealed brood cells in the former case are raised.

5. Eggs
 The queen bee lays both fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
i. The fertilized eggs i.e diploid give rise to the queen and worker bees
2N

6. ii. The unfertilized eggs i.e haploid give rise to the drones.
N
 The eggs are morphologically similar. They are pearl white in color and slightly curved.
 Eggs are laid singly and vertically in the cell attached to the bottom of the cells.
 Fertilized eggs are laid in either worker brood cells or queen cells.
 Unfertilized eggs are laid in drone cells.
 At the end of 3rd day, the egg shell get dissolved and the larvae emerge out.

7. Eggs laid in the cells
A single egg

8. Larval Stage
 The larvae is loop shaped initially towards cell capping. They stretch in the cell with head facing
towards distal end of the cell. Larvae of all caste moult four times after which they enter pre-pupal
stage.
 Larvae is hemicephalous type which means head is partially developed and legless.

9. Honey-bee larvae in the cells

10. Pupal Stage
 In this stage the larvae is is held in a thin silken cocoon around themselves and undergo
gradual but drastic changes. All the characters of adulthood appears in this stage of life
cycle of honey bees.
 The pupa is exarate type which means various appendages viz., antennae, legs and
wing pads are not glued to the body. They are free. The pupa is soft and pale .
 The pupa are sealed and can be differentiated between drone and worker as the seal is
raised of the drones.

11. Honey-bee pupae

12. Adult or Imago
 When pupal development is completed, the insect changes to adult. It is
followed by pupal moult and adult bee emerge out of sealed cells.
 In addition of adult bees each normal colont has different developmental
stages/brood i.e eggs and larvae are unsealed and the pupae as sealed broods.

13. Adult coming out of the cell

14. Duration of life stages of different castes
of honey bee
Caste Egg period (days) Larval Stage(days) Pupal Stage (days) Total (days)
A.cerana A.Mellifera A.cerana A.mellifera A.cerana A.mellifera A.cerana A.mellifera
Queen 3 3 5 5 7-8 8 15-16 16
Worker 3 3 4-5 5 11-12 12-13 18-20 21
Drones 3 3 7 7 14 14 24 24

16. Thank You for keeping
patience