90 



OCCUPANTS OF THE HIVE 



be much longer as a mother than had she developed into a 

 worker. The life of a queen may be from one to five years. 



Queen cells somewhat resemble acorns in shape (Fig. 47). 

 Three days pass from the time the egg is placed in the cell until 

 it hatches into a tiny white larva. The little larva is provided 



Fig. 47. — Natural-built queen cells. 



with a liberal quantity of royal jelly on which it feeds. At the 

 end of six days the larval growth is completed and the cell is 

 sealed. Seven days are required to complete the transformations 

 from a larva to a mature queen bee, and the cell is opened from 

 within, and the queen appears upon the comb. Warmer or colder 

 weather may slightly influence the period of development, so that 

 it may be a little longer or a little shorter, but sixteen days is 



