UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1222 



Washington, D. C. 



March 14, 1924 



GROWTH AND FEEDING OF HONEYBEE LARVAE. 



By James A. Nelson, Formerly Expert in Apiculture, Arnold P. Sturtevant, 

 Apicultural Assistant, and Bruce Limeburg, Formerly Assistant in Bee- 

 keeping, Bureau of Entomology. 



Part I. The rate of growth of the honeybee larva {James A. Nelson and 



Arnold P. Sturtevant) 1 



Part II. The feeding of honeybee larvae {Bruce Lineburg) 25 



PART I. THE RATE OF GROWTH OF THE HONEYBEE 



LARVA 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Methods, Lots 1 to 7 2 



Observations, Lots 1 to 7 : 2 



Weight of eggs 2 



Rate of growth of larvae 3 



Variations in rate of growth 6 



Length, of the larval period 6 



Effects of underfeeding 7 



Methods, Lot 8 8 



Observations, Lot 8 9 



Effect of no honey-flow 9 



Effect of stimulation 9 



Nature and composition of brood 



food 11 



Page. 

 Time of change in composition of 



brood food 12 



Rate of growth 13 



Correlation of food with the rate 



of growth 14 



Correlation with time spent in 



nursing 16 



General appearance of larvae of dif- 

 ferent ages 16 



Summary and conclusions 18 



Tables 1 to 4 20 



Literature cited 24 



INTRODUCTION. 



Notwithstanding the abundant literature on the adult honeybee, 

 there is a relatively small amount of exact information concerning 

 the life history of the larva, particularly with regard to the ex- 

 traordinary rate of development and the factors influencing this 

 growth. Straus (9), 1 in connection with a study of the chemical 

 composition of honeybee larva? at different ages, gives a series of 

 careful weighings of larvse at successive age periods 24 hours apart. 



1 Reference is made by number (italic) to " Literature cited," p. 24. 

 69525° — 24 1 



