Bees are social insects with a complex societal structure where each individual plays a specific role. Bees are either female or male, with distinct functions vital to the colony’s survival. This division of labor, based on sex, underpins the efficient functioning of a bee hive.
The Gendered World of Bees
Within a honeybee colony, gender determines a bee’s physical characteristics, behaviors, and contributions. The queen bee and all worker bees are female, while male bees are known as drones.
A bee’s gender is determined at the egg stage. The queen bee controls the sex of the eggs she lays. Fertilized eggs develop into female bees, which can become worker bees or future queens, depending on their larval diet. Unfertilized eggs develop into male bees, the drones. This mechanism ensures a precise balance of sexes within the colony.
Female Bees: Workers and Queens
Female bees form the backbone of a bee colony, comprising the solitary reproductive queen and numerous worker bees. Their collective efforts are essential for the hive’s growth, maintenance, and prosperity.
The Queen Bee
The queen bee is the sole reproductive female in a typical honeybee colony, serving as the mother to most, if not all, of the bees in the hive. Her primary role involves laying eggs, with a productive queen capable of laying up to 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day during peak seasons. She also produces pheromones, chemical signals that regulate hive activity, maintain colony unity, and suppress the reproductive development of worker bees. Physically, the queen is noticeably larger than other bees, with a longer, more pointed abdomen, and possesses a smooth stinger that she can use multiple times, unlike worker bees.
The Worker Bees
All worker bees are female and sterile. They constitute the vast majority of the colony’s population, often making up 80-99% of the hive, and perform nearly all daily operations. Worker bees undertake diverse tasks throughout their short lives, typically lasting 5-7 weeks during active seasons. These responsibilities include cleaning hive cells, nursing young larvae, building and repairing honeycomb, and regulating hive temperature by fanning their wings.
As they age, worker bees transition to different roles, eventually becoming foragers that collect nectar, pollen, water, and propolis from outside the hive. They also convert nectar into honey, store pollen, and defend the hive from intruders using their barbed stingers. This progression of tasks ensures the colony’s continuous survival.
Male Bees: The Drones
Male bees, known as drones, have a specialized role within the bee colony. Their primary function is to mate with a virgin queen from another colony. Drones are produced from unfertilized eggs and are present in the hive seasonally, typically comprising about 10-15% of the colony’s population.
Drones are physically distinct from female bees, characterized by their larger, stouter bodies and notably larger eyes, which aid in locating queens during mating flights. Unlike worker bees, drones lack stingers and do not participate in hive maintenance activities such as foraging, caring for young, or building comb. They are often fed by worker bees. After mating, a drone typically dies due to the detachment of his reproductive organs. Drones that do not mate are often expelled from the hive by worker bees at the end of the season, particularly before winter, to conserve resources.