A honeybee’s responsibilities are determined by its place in the hive, and those places alter as the bees get older.
Below is a list of a honeybee’s responsibilities over the course of its life:
Days 1-3: Cleaning – Young worker bees start out by cleaning the hive and assisting in maintaining the colony free of trash and debris.
Days 4—11: Nursing – Worker bees change into nurses and are in charge of taking care of and feeding the larvae. The baby bees are fed with a particular material they generate called royal jelly.
Days 12—17: Maintenance of the hive – At this time, worker bees start to build comb, store honey, and control the hive’s temperature and humidity.
Days 18—21: Guard duties – As they near the end of their life cycle, worker bees transform into guards who are in charge of keeping out intruders from the hive.
After day 22, older worker bees go foraging, leaving the hive to gather nectar, pollen, and water to bring back to the colony. Also, they aid in processing and storing the honey and beeswax.
Queen bees do diverse tasks. They are in charge of egg production and have a daily egg production capacity of up to 2,000. On the other hand, drones only have one job—mating with the queen—and have no other responsibilities.