Life cycle of Honeybee (Apis milifera )
|
|
Egg stage |
Larval stage |
Pupal stage |
Total time to adult emergence |
Life spam |
|
Queen |
3 days |
5 days |
7-8 days |
15-16 days |
2-5 years |
|
Worker |
3 days |
6 days |
11-12 days |
20-21 days |
6 weeks to 6 months |
|
Drone |
3 days |
7 days |
14 days |
24 days |
About 2 months |
The life cycle stages :
a) Egg :
- Queen lays banana shaped creamy white eggs 2-5 days after mating.
- Egg hatches after 3 days.
- Queen eggs and worker eggs are fertilized, drone eggs are unfertilized.
b) Larva :
- Small larvae hatch from the egg after 3 days.
- The larval period is 5 days for a queen, 6 for a worker, and 7 for a drone.
- Queen larva :- Royal jelly , drone and worker :- royal jelly for 3 days and bee bread.
- The larval stage last 5 to 7 days and continue moulting several times until enter to pupal stage.
c) Pupa:
- Also called the dormant stage/ inactive stage.
- The pupal stage lasts for 7–8 days for a queen, 11–12 days for a worker, and 14 days for a drone.
- During this stage, the internal organs and body appendages develop. Finally the adult bees emerge.
d) Adult:
- The adults emerge from the cocoon and bite a hole in the top of the sealed cell to come out.
- Adult stage lasts for 15–16 days for a queen, 20–21 days for a worker, and 24 days for a drone .