Don’t you just love seeing baby bees flying around outside? No? You can’t remember when you last saw one? In the insect world, newly emerged bees are actually full-sized adults. But inside the hive, the developing bee babies are preparing to take on all the duties of the hive. These young ones have a big responsibility.
The development process is one of the most interesting facts about bees. From the tiny egg laid by a queen to a fully functioning adult – it only takes a few weeks to get the job done. And, that’s a good thing.
In this Post:
New Born Bees are the Future
The hive needs thousands of individuals to carry on the functions of daily life. And that large work force is necessary in order to store food to ensure Winter survival of the honey bee colony.
Unlike some insects, honey bee colonies over-Winter as a large family inside the hive. Millions of flowers must be visited in the search for nectar and pollen before cold weather arrives. The average hive needs 60# of stored food!
Forager honey bees can fly or travel several miles from the colony in search of resources. All this hard work wears out wings, muscles and various parts of the bee body. In honey bees, worn out body parts are not replaced.
Summer worker bees live a short time (only 6 weeks) – they actually work themselves to death. This means a new population of bee babies must always be in the works during the Summer months.
The role of the queen honey bee is laying eggs that will develop into the future work force. But, she requires care and proper feeding from her workers.
What are Baby Bees Called ?
In a honey bee colony, baby bees are called brood. Bee brood most often refers to small white grubs or larvae. These larvae are in the eating and growing stage of development.
For the sake of clarity, I am going to include eggs in this discussion about babies. But, some beekeepers refer to bee eggs separately.
The honey bee life cycle involves 4 stages
- egg
- larva
- pupa
- adult
Each adult develops through these bee life cycle stages. The amount of time spent in each stage depends on what type of honey bee (or caste) is involved.
The Queen Bee becomes an adult in 16 days, a worker bee requires 21 days and a male bee or drone honey bee needs 24 days to reach adulthood.
How Bees are Born
Baby honey bees are not really born – see it’s that mammal term again. They emerge.
First, a mated queen honey bee lays eggs in honeycomb cells. If she fertilizes the egg it will develop into workers. Unfertilized eggs develop into drones.
In a few days, the bee eggs will hatch. Actually, they do not really hatch – the outer shell of the egg dissolves. Now, we have tiny, white larva. Bee larva eat and grow at an amazing rate.
What do Baby Bees Look Like?
Bee larvae look like tiny white grubs. Beekeepers call larvae – uncapped brood or “milk brood”. The term “milk brood” is in reference to the brood food that is provided by nurse bees. You can see the tiny bee larva floating in a pool of food.
Over the next few days, the larvae will grow larger and fill the bottom of the cell. Once the larva fills the bottom of the cell it is about 6 days old.
Once the larval or feeding stage is completed. The larva stops eating and begins to spin a silky cocoon. The pupal stage is beginning.
Outside the cell, workers are closing the top of the honeycomb cell with a wax cap. The developing pupa inside will not require food. They have all the nutrition needed to complete the transformation process.
Wax used to seal brood cells looks different than capped cells of honey. This is because workers re-use older wax to cap brood.
Once a section of brood is covered and sealed, it is called “capped brood”. We can not see what is happening inside but baby bee larva is changing into a pupa and then an adult bee.
The Brood Nest
Beekeepers refer to the area of the beehive where young are developing as the “brood nest”.
In the brood nest, female workers feed larvae and keep them warm. The young need to be kept at a constant temperature and humidity. Therefore, it makes sense to have all the brood in the same area of the hive.
When beekeepers evaluate their colonies, one of the major things they check is the condition of the brood nest.
They want to see a good brood pattern with developing young of all stages. This means the colony is growing and doing well.
How Baby Bees Eat
Defenseless bee larvae lie in their cells consuming brood food provided by workers. The nurses make many trips to each brood cell.
In order to feed young, workers must consume large amounts of protein rich pollen. This enables them to produce royal jelly and other types of brood food.
Bees need pollen to use as a protein source. Without pollen, they can not raise young. Bees do not use pollen to make honey – though some pollen grains may end up in honey.
Do Developing Bees Eat Honey?
Baby bees are unable to leave their cell. They depend on nurse bees to bring them special food. Even if they were to be able to reach a cell of honey, the larvae would not be able to digest it.
That is because the diet of bees varies according to the age of the individual. Even adult bees consume bee bread in a fermented state instead of raw pollen – it is easier to digest.
Stinger of Young Bees
Females in a honey bee colony have a sting. But, they must mature a few days before the stinger functions. So, you have no reason to fear being stung by a very young bee.
Once she is a few days old, things change and she is ready to start her work. Why do honey bees sting? They do so to depend themselves or the hive. Male bees of course do not have stingers and therefore are not able to sting at any age.
And, there are a few species of bees that do not sting. But, it is a good idea to assume that they can and will defend themselves.
Are Bees Born Full Grown?
Yes, bees are born full grown and ready to begin their role in the honey bee colony. The adult bee emerges chewing with her toothed mandibles out of her capped cell.
This new born is fully formed and looks much like the thousands of other members of the colony.
Over a few days, the cuticle (outside) of her exoskeleton will harden, the wings will firm up. The bee is ready to become a fully functioning member of the colony.
Because honey bees emerge from the cell as a full sized adult bee, you will never see a true baby honey bee-that looks like an miniature adult.
Undersized individuals found in the colony are often the result of poor genetics or inadequate nutrition.
FAQs
Can baby bees sting?
Of course developing honey bees can not sting until they emerge as adults. Even then the young adult bee must mature for a few days until her stinger hardens.
Where do baby bees live?
Developing baby honey bee live in the hive. They grow to maturity right in their beeswax cells while being cared for by nurse bees. Once they reach adulthood, they emerge from their wax cells to take their role in the colony.
Can baby bees fly?
Honey bees emerge from their wax cell with wings and full formed. But, they must mature a few days before they are capable of true flight. Even though, bees spend the first 3-4 weeks working inside the hive.
A Final Word
There are so many interesting aspects of bee life that we will likely never learn them all. Beekeepers strive to learn as much bee biology as possible to help us understand how the colony works. The more we know about all stages of bee life, include bee babies, the better equipped we are to manage our hives.
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