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 davs 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 
