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Bee larvae, as well as eggs and pupae, belong to the brood. Typically, the pupa is sealed brood and the eggs are open brood. As you know, the queen bee lays eggs in the queen cells, and then fertilizes them. Subsequently, other queens, working individuals, develop and grow from the eggs. If for some reason the clutch was not fertilized by the uterus, then drones will be born from the eggs – males.
How many days does a bee hatch
Honey bees live in nature in colonies that number tens of thousands of workers and just one hive queen. As a rule, drones are needed only in the summer period and their number is much smaller – 100-200 pcs.
The uterus is engaged in laying eggs, the number of new individuals depends on its quality. Most of all, worker bees that belong to females appear in the world. After 21 days, bees that are workers are hatched. The period of development of the uterus is much less and takes only 16 days.
After the working individuals are born, they first do the work in the hive, when they reach adulthood, they can leave the hive:
- 1-3 days – cleaners (they gnaw pupae out of the cells, clean the hive);
- 3-13 days – nurses (process honey with bee bread, feed the uterus, drones, baby bees);
- 13-23 days – receptionists (take pollen, nectar, enrich with enzymes);
- 23-30 дней – сторожевые (охраняют улей).
Males, that is, drones, develop for 24 days after the uterus has laid eggs. The life cycle of a drone bee is no more than 3 months.
Стадии развития пчелы
The cells used for the development of bees differ in size from ordinary combs. Development is carried out in several stages:
- яйцо – they are laid by the queen bee. This stage lasts 3 days. It is important to take into account the fact that this period is the same for everyone – worker bees, drones, the mother bee;
- larva This stage takes 6 days. The first 3 days they receive food from lactating individuals. Initially, royal jelly is obtained, after which the diet includes a mixture of honey and perga;
- pre-pupa – this stage of development lasts 2 days for queens and workers, 4 days for drones;
- chrysalis – Insects are in this state for 6 days, after which they turn into adult insects. In a motionless state and without food, the pupae are about 21 days. At the moment when the molt occurs, bees appear;
- adult – the first few days they receive food from older bees, after which they begin to consume honey and bee bread on their own.
After the young individuals are born, they must first get to know the uterus – touch it with their antennae, studying the smell. These stages remain unchanged, regardless of the breed of bees living in the beekeeper’s apiary, and the type of larvae: the queen of the hive, drones, worker insects.
Bee larva: name and development cycles
Пчелы – насекомые, проходящие полное превращение. До того как у червячка, который в дальнейшем станет пчелой, начнется этап прядения, он меняет кожу 4 раза. Этапы развития от яйца до пчелы характеризуются разным строением тела, особенностями питания и поведением особей. Также важно учитывать тот факт, что рабочие особи, трутни и матки развиваются по-разному. То есть, у них разное время развития, они получают разные корма.
Как выглядит личинка
The larvae have a simple structure: a small head, a white worm-like body, which includes the abdominal and thoracic segments. From the outside, the shell is covered with a small layer of chitin.
Both in larvae of bees and in young bees, the intestines play an important role, as a rule, the front arrow resembles a tube with muscles. In the process of intestinal contraction, the insect absorbs liquid food, thereby developing.
Most of the body is occupied by the middle intestine, along which the excretory organs are located. The hindgut is curved, at the end is the anus. The heart is located in the dorsal part and consists of 12 chambers, but an adult bee has only 5 chambers. As you know, the genitals and nervous system are in a closed state, eyes and smell are completely absent. On the lower lip there are spinning glands, with the help of which the insect subsequently spins a cocoon for itself.
Working insects and drones are laid in the same conditions, unlike queens – a special place is allocated for them, since more space is required in the process of development. For 3 days, everyone is fed with royal jelly, after it becomes known exactly who will hatch, all individuals are transferred to a mixture of honey and perga. Royal jelly continues to be given only to the uterus.
Питание и число кормлений
Undoubtedly, the scheme and cycle of development of the bee are quite important points, but a special role is given to the quality and quantity of nutrition, due to which the larvae develop. It is important to understand that the type of nutrition depends entirely on who will be born – a queen bee or a working individual. Many families can feed the offspring according to the same scenario. The first 3 days of life, the larvae receive the same food – royal jelly. Bees produce milk with the help of the upper or lower jaw. Such a food product contains all the vitamins necessary for development.
After 3 days, the bees are transferred to a mixture of honey and perga, while the queens receive milk throughout their development. The development period lasts 5 days. The formation time of an open brood of drones is 7 days, of working insects – 6 days.
Feeding is an important process that takes a lot of energy. If the brood is left without food for at least a couple of minutes, then it dies. The duties of a wet nurse include the production of about 1500 servings of milk.
Microclimate
In addition to the life cycle of a bee, it is necessary to understand what microclimate must be observed in the hive for the full development of the larvae. As a rule, the first sowing occurs in February. During this period, it is very important to maintain the required temperature and humidity levels. The development of larvae requires temperatures ranging from +32°C to +35°C. If there is a decrease in temperature below the minimum allowable level, then the brood will grow weakened. Young bees will be underdeveloped, some may have deformed wings.
It is also important to understand that there should not be an increase in temperature above the maximum allowable level, since in this case the brood may die. During cold weather, individuals cling to the walls of the cells, thereby creating the necessary microclimate for the development of larvae. On hot days, insects lower the temperature on their own. To do this, they begin to flap their wings rather quickly, providing air flow.
Prepupal stage
At the moment when the larvae find themselves in a sealed cell, they straighten up and begin to spin a cocoon, that is, they begin the process of pupation. This stage is called the prepupal stage. The prepupa develops inside the cocoon. After 24 hours, this process comes to an end, after a few more hours, the first molt begins. The old shell of the pupa remains in the cell and is there until the very end, where it mixes with feces.
final stage: pupa
Bees in the developmental stage from egg to pupa go through a sufficient number of stages to turn into an adult, and this stage is the final one. The skeleton of the pupa becomes dark and after 2-3 days a young insect is born. The insect that was born must go through 4 stages of molting, after which it gnaws through the lid and leaves the cell.
The newly born bees have a soft body with a lot of hairs. In the process of development and growth, the shell hardens, the hairs wear out. The development of a working individual takes 21 days.
The final molt
A fairly fast cycle of bee development from larvae does not affect the size of the bee robe, that is, the shell that stretches as the individual grows. At the moment when the robe becomes too small for the bee, the larva, which many beekeepers call detva, changes it in accordance with its dimensions.
It is important to take into account the fact that in the process of growth and development, the bee larva molts 4 times, the duration is about 30 minutes:
- Спустя 12-18 часов после того, как личинка появилась на свет.
- The next molt occurs 36 hours after the first.
- For the third change of clothes, 60 hours must pass from the moment of hatching.
- The final molt occurs after 90 hours.
Когда личинке исполняется 6 день, она занимает ячейку полностью. При этом изменений с линькой и организмом будущей пчелы не наблюдается.
How do bees develop in a hollow
The process of brood development in wild and domestic bees is not much different. Insects go through similar developmental stages. The only exception is that beekeepers can provide for their bee families the necessary microclimate for the development of larvae, and wild bees do everything on their own.
In addition, it is important to take into account the fact that domestic bees use the same cells for rearing offspring a large number of times. Until a beekeeper replaces them. Since in the process of life of the larvae, the cells decrease and weak individuals are born. Wild bees fill the brood cells with honey, as such combs become much stronger over time, as a result of which they will not collapse.
Conclusion
Bee larvae are the first stage of development in the brood. As a rule, the larvae receive a large amount of food, and with it the valuable elements necessary for full development. While maintaining the necessary microclimate, healthy individuals are born, which quite quickly begin to fulfill their immediate duties in the bee colony.