THE WORKER BEES AND THEIR ROLE

Worker bees are female specimens, which have become sterile due to the inhibitory pheromones, or colony cohesion, of the queen bee of the hive to which it belongs.

A life of hard work. This is the slogan that best defines worker bees and their role. Many tasks have been performed, from cleaning the hive to feeding the larvae, from building the hive to collecting pollen and nectar, up to the defense of the hive.

The worker bees are female specimens, which have become sterile due to the inhibitory pheromones, or colony cohesion, of the queen bee of the hive to which it belongs. Characterized by a body of no more than 12, maximum 13 mm (much less than the 18-22 mm of the queen bee) and a "super view" essential for sighting the areas rich in flowers and for collecting pollen and nectar, the worker bees are able to perform a myriad of tasks during their life (ranging from 40 days to 5 months depending on the period and workload). Before introducing in detail the worker bees and their role, we limit ourselves to saying that it takes 3 weeks for its birth from the moment in which the fertilized eggs are laid. In detail, the eggs hatch after 3 days. Following the birth of the larvae, which are blind, they are fed royal jelly for the first 3 days. Then with the bee bread which is nothing more than a mixture of honey and pollen. Generally, until the twenty-first day, the tasks carried out by the worker bees are all internal to the hive.

Cleaning worker bees : keep the hive in order by cleaning the honeycombs
Nurturing worker bees : producers of royal jelly from their glands
Wax-producing worker bees : they take care of the construction of honeycombs
Storage worker bees : after receiving the food from the foraging bees, they go to store it inside the honeycombs
Guardian worker bees : act as a sentinel, defending the hive from external attacks and controlling the entrance of worker bees through tiny doors.
Ventilating worker bees : in addition to keeping the temperature of the hive stable, thanks to their flapping wings they are able to dehydrate the nectar. Only after the fateful 21 days, following the atrophy of the cerigen glands, do they become foraging bees. What is the new role of worker bees?
- - Worker bees gatherers of pollen
  - Worker bees gatherers of nectar
  - Worker bees gathering water
  - Worker bees gatherers of propolis
To conclude the discussion on worker bees and their role, keep in mind that the cycle is variable.