Workers are reared in cells which are by far the most numerous 
in the colony and measure one-fifth of an inch in diameter. They are 
hatched from female eggs. The incubation period is three days. 
The worker larvae are fed on a prepared food which, during the first 
two days, resembles that given the queen (royal jelly) except that 
the quantity is much less. After the first two days the food is less 
finely prepared and becomes coarser, until at the end of six days 
feeding ceases. During this period the larva has increased in size until 
it completely fills the cell. It is then capped over by the workers. 
Fig. 3. Worker—Redrawn ABC. 
During the next twelve days it undergoes transformations, and at the 
end of this period, which is twenty-one days from the time the egg 
was deposited, bites its way from the cell a fully developed winged 
insect. 
Appearance 
The worker bee differs from the queen in appearance principally 
in the size and shape of the abdomen. There is also a difference in 
the size and shape of the thorax and head. The abdomen of the worker 
bee is considerably shorter than that of the queen and comes to a 
point more abruptly. It is also smaller in diameter, particularly 
as compared with a laying queen whose abdomen is distended with 
eggs. After emerging from the cell it soon takes up the inside work 
of the hive, such as feeding larvae, secreting wax and building comb, 
ventilating, and keeping the hive free of refuse matter. These young 
workers are called nurse bees. About midday on bright sunshiny 
days the young workers fly from the hive and mark its location and void 
the feces. The first flight is a very short distance from the hive. These 
flights increase in length until the bee has fixed the location of the 
hive and can unerringly return to its home. These flights are called 
“play flights,” and because frequently a large number of bees engage 
in it at one time it is sometimes mistaken for an attempt at swarming. 
When about two weeks of age the workers take up outside work and 
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