What are the tasks of worker bees?

Worker bees as well as the queen bee, are essential elements for every hive. Their tireless work is what determines the survival of the swarm . The workers are constantly busy in all kinds of roles. Primarily their job is to maintain an optimal state of health for their sovereign.

What worker bees do

The role of bees workers is almost as important as that of the queen. A queen bee is responsible for producing new individuals by laying eggs. Without this element, the swarm could not reproduce and the family's life would end in no time. The survival of the queen and her colony depends very much on her ability to maintain a large population. In fact, during the peak of the season she lays more eggs than her body weighs. 

After having clarified how the queen of the hive works, it is also appropriate to clarify the very important role of worker bees within the swarm. If it is true that the queen bee is the beating heart of a colony, it is also true that without her worker bees, it would not be able to survive. From the first moments of life, the other bees tremble at the very thought of their queen. The workers dedicate their entire lives to taking care of their sovereign bee.

For the duration of their life, they use every second of their time to carry out tasks and tasks solely aimed at the welfare of the queen bee . But why does this happen? The explanation revolves around the fact that the queen is a very precious asset for the hive since she is the only bee out of thousands of individuals capable of reproducing. Precisely for this reason, her life is very important and must be protected to the maximum. The worker bees are very loyal to her and will take care of providing her food, keeping her warm and much more. </ P>

Duties and roles within the hive

The worker bee is not born with a specific task to perform throughout her life. Depending on her age and the needs of the hive she can hold various positions. In fact, worker bees are able to work in every role. In this way, real castes are created. The worker bees make continuous patrol flights around the hive and in this way, they are able to better understand the needs and requirements to be met.

Based on the work done, we can divide the bees into:

• Nurse bees : these are usually young bees busy with the task of feeding the larvae . They are responsible for producing royal jelly to be used for the larvae present in the cells and for the queen bee;
• Foraging bees : after about 21 days of life, foraging are bees that go outside to collect raw materials such as pollen and nectar, essential for honey production;
• Cleaner bees: as the name suggests, these bees take care of keeping the hive clean and tidy. They also take care of preparing the cells for the new brood, coating them with propolis.
• Guardian bees : Guardian bees are always active and alert at any time of day or night. They are positioned at the entrance to the hive and protect the swarm from unwelcome predators.
• Fan bees: through a tiring and continuous movement with their wings, bees keep the temperature inside the hive stable.
• Gravedigger bees: these bees have the task of removing the organic residues of other bees. If the body of a dead bee is present, they carry it away in such a way as to leave the hive clean. Eliminating dead bees within the colony is in fact essential to maintain a high level of hygiene.
• Ceraiole bees: they produce wax for honeycomb repair . This will be their only task.
• Storage bees: these bees do nothing but supply themselves with the pollen and nectar collected by the foragers and store it inside the honeycombs.

Taking care of the queen bee

As we have noted, the functioning of the hive is governed by a strong collaboration between the bees that we remember, they are social animals and very predisposed to group life and mutual help. The division of duties is precise and orderly. Each bee has its own to do and dedicates its entire life to take care of its specific task. Caring for the queen bee is always at the center of everything. Not surprisingly, she would not be able to survive alone as she would not know how to provide for her own sustenance. The workers provide her with food, keep her warm and are able to guarantee her optimal health.

Feeding the drones

The worker bees also take care of feeding the drones . In fact, the males of the hive have a much less developed mouth apparatus that does not allow them to collect the nectar from the flowers. The drones do not perform any task in the hive but only take care of fertilizing the queen, after which they die. During their lives, therefore, it is the workers who provide for their livelihood.

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