364: General Biology 



appendages can be seen near the anterior end of the embryo, one pair 

 of the anterior appendages disappear and the others become mouth 

 parts. Then, three pair of appendages develop on the thorax, all of 

 which disappear before hatching, 



METAMORPHOSIS 



The life-history of the bee is divided into four periods : egg, larva, 

 pupa, and adult or imago. 



Queens, workers, and drones remain in the egg three days, but the 

 queens remain in the larval stage five and a half days, and in the pupal 

 stage seven days, while the workers remain in the larval stage five days, 

 and in the pupal stage thirteen. The drones remain in the larval stage 

 six days, and in the pupal stage fifteen days. 



During the fourth day the larva hatches from the egg as a white, 

 footless, soft, grub-like form floating in "bee-milk" (also called "royal 

 jelly"). This "milk" is composed of digested honey and pollen with 

 probably some glandular secretions. The "milk" is formed in the true 

 stomachs of special "nurse" workers who place it in the cells. 



All larvae are fed this royal jelly for about three days by the nurse 

 workers, after which a change takes place. Those which are to become 

 workers are fed honey and digested pollen, while those which are to 

 become queens alone continue to get the richer royal jelly until they 

 change to the pupal stage. The drone larvae, after the fourth day, 

 receive undigested pollen and honey. 



The young larvae grow rapidly and shed their exoskeleton several 

 times. In fact, during the last molt, even the lining of the alimentary 

 canal and all its contents are shed with the exoskeleton. 



Some five or six days after hatching, the nurse worker places a 

 quantity of food in the cell with the larva and places a cap on the cell. 

 The larva spins a cocoon of silk about itself some two or three days 

 later. It is now in a resting stage and is called the pupa. 



The spinning-glands are in the mouth region, and later become the 

 salivary glands of the adult. 



Almost the entire structure is made over during this pupal stage, 

 and the full-fledged bee emerges in its adult form and shape. 



BEHAVIOR 



As the queen emerges from the pupal stage the eggs have not yet 

 distended her abdomen. She is, therefore, about the same size as a 

 worker. As soon as she becomes accustomed to her surroundings, she 

 starts on a hunt for other queen cells. She breaks through these and 

 stings the pupa within or tears the cell down and lets the workers remove 

 such destroyed structures with the other debris. There is thus only 

 one queen left. It is after this time that the nuptial-flight, already 



