Worker bees - stages of development, functions and life of insects
Bees are considered strange creatures of nature. Their help to the person is huge. Optimally, each bee family has one fruiting uterus, a certain number of drones, as well as worker bees. This is the only biological education. No bees, no uterus, nor are drones able to live apart from their families for long periods of time.
Worker bees are certain females of the bee family. Their difference is due to ??team, that they have incompletely developed genitals. They develop from fertilized eggs, deposited by the uterus in beehives. They do not mate with drones, accordingly do not lay eggs.
The number of worker bees in a family varies from season to season. The productivity of the bee colony directly depends on their number. In the spring the number varies from 20 to 25 thousands of individuals. In summer, the number can come from 80 to 100 thousands of individuals. Such a family is considered strong. Persons, raised in a strong family, live much longer.
The main manufacturers of all products (honey, saw, wax, propolis) there are worker bees.
Specifications
- He has a body, in its structure differs from the body of the uterus and drone. It is much shorter - close 14 mm, proboscis length about 7,2 mm (may vary depending on the breed).
- Proboscis is used to collect and process nectar. With its help also carries out feeding of larvae, uterus and drones, brings water to the hive.
- There are also wax glands. They are located on the abdomen, serve to separate the wax.
- The sting helps to protect itself and the nest from external enemies.
From the moment of laying eggs by the uterus to birth takes three weeks or 21 day. The lifespan of a worker bee is directly related to the intensity of the work performed. In summer she lives no more 1,5 month. In winter it is much more - up to two hundred days. Each individual is entrusted with his work.
Life expectancy of bees
There are two categories of worker bees - summer (field) and non-minors (hives).
stages of development of the worker bee
This division is due to the physiology of worker bees. Young people are considered to be 20 days of development. At this age, they are able to produce large amounts of milk. After three weeks of life, they begin to develop intensively on the abdomen wax glands. Then they become able to fly to the meadows and bring nectar to the nest.
The hive category consists of young bees. They work inside the hive. It is their responsibility:
- timely feed the larvae;
- build new cells;
- maintain the temperature necessary for life in the hive;
- to carry out cleaning and ventilation of a nest;
- take nectar from flying worker bees and immediately process it into honey;
- insulate the walls of hives with propolis.
After finishing 15 — 20 days minors pass into the category of flight. Their responsibilities are now on the list:
- collecting pollen and nectar from plants;
- beehive protection;
- water delivery to the nest;
- delivery of propolis.
After, as the bee grows old, it only provides the nest with water. The person survived the winter safely, in the spring is able to raise one young. Young spring hatching is much more - more than three bees.
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Stages of development
The life cycle of each worker bee is short, but contains several important stages of individual development. These stages can be marked:
- Larva, which is in the egg. The time from laying the uterus to hatching an individual from the cell is three weeks. On the fourth day after laying fertilized eggs by the uterus, the shell is completely destroyed by the larva. At this time, juvenile nursing bees add a drop of their milk to each cell. Milk feeding lasts for three days. On the fourth day, the diet is changed to a mixture of pollen, honey and water. When a week later the larva "grows" from the cell, worker bees seal it, using wax. The second stage comes.
- Chrysalis, which other persons sealed in the cell. This stage usually lasts no longer 12 days. Then a young individual emerges from the pupa, having previously destroyed the wax, how it was sealed. There is a transition to the third stage of development.
- young bee. The first two days it does not work. Starting from the third day, she begins to clean the hive, preparation of new cells for eggs, which will be deposited by the uterus and begins to store honey in honeycombs. Eats so far at the expense of other individuals.
Only on the fourth day do the glands begin to develop, which produce feed for young animals, and she can now feed on pollen on her own. On the sixth day she is able to feed the new larvae with her milk.
At the age of seven days, bees begin to work intensively wax glands on the abdomen. Now she can release wax and participate in construction work in the hive. After reducing the productivity of the wax glands (with 15 day of life) they move on to cleaning the nest. The next stage of development is coming. - The worker bee is an adult. This is called an individual in age 22 days. She collects nectar, propolis and water. In one flight the insect is able to bring to 40 mg nectar, saw - 15 mg. They find their hive on several grounds: the smell of family, color of hives; position of the sun.
the first flight of a young worker bee
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The smell spreads from fellow flight attendants, hives are better to paint in color, which is distinguished by honey workers. It can be blue, yellow or purple.
The main task of worker bees is to ensure the livelihood of the family. List of works, performed by a worker, determined by her age. But if there are problems in the family, she also performs work, not peculiar to their age.
This ability of the working insect is most valued. Their body is perfectly adapted to perform various tasks - a well-developed sense of smell, anatomically the body has all the necessary organs (long proboscis, tooth, the sting, devices on legs and brushes to clean the body from pollen, waxy abdominal glands).
Bees live by the law, started in the family, and very clearly adhere to the established hierarchy. This provides a high level of organization.