In a beehive, there are three different types of bee.

Different Bees

queen bee worker bee drone bee

The first stage in the life of a bee is when the queen bee lays a single egg

in a cell of the honeycomb.

The Egg

The honeycomb is made by the worker bees.

The egg is long, thin and white.

A cell is a small hole in the honeycomb.

The larvae is fed royal jelly,

which is made by the worker bees. This is like a white liquid.

After around three days,

the egg hatches into

a larvae.

The larvae looks like a

white worm.

The Larvae

The Larvae

After a few days, the

cell is sealed by the

worker bees with a lid of

wax.

Then, the larvae is fed bee bread. This is a

mixture of honey and

pollen.This is called the

pupa stage.

The Pupa

The pupa spins a cocoon and begins to change. Its legs, eyes and wings grow in the cocoon.

The pupa grows but is no longer fed.

After 21 days from being a new egg, the pupa has become an adult bee.

The Adult Bee

It is a light grey colour. It stays in the hive for 21 days.

The fully grown bee bites the lid off the cell and climbs out.

At 22 days old, the bee becomes a forager bee. This means it will fly to

flowers and look for pollen.

An adult bee can live for up to six weeks in the summer.

Life Cycle of a Bee

egg

pupa

adult

larvae

1

23

4

Life cycles

• Honey bees have a similar life cycle to many other insects.

Stage 1 – egg

Stage 2 – Larva (after 3 days the larva which is like a worm emerges from the egg.

Stage 3 – Pupa – on day 10 the larva stops eating and spins a cocoon around itself

Stage 4 – Inside the cocoon a pupa develops and begins to look like a bee. When it is fully grown it chews its way out.

Bumblebee

• Bumblebees are big hairy oval shaped bees that are yellow and black. They have pollen baskets on their legs to collect and carry pollen back to their hives.

• They normally build small nests in dry grass or moss.

Why do bees need flowers?

• Flowers contain pollen and nectar. Bumblebees need both of these to help them grow and to give them energy.

• Without flowers bumblebees would starve and die.

• Different bumblebees have different lengths of tongue. This makes them good at drinking from different shaped flowers. The bumblebee on the right has a long tongue.

So what is a bee?

•Most bee species don't make honey because they are not social bees and don't live in a hive; most bee species are solitary bees.

•Honey bees only make honey and are often mistaken for other insects.

Leafcutter bees

• Leafcutter bees are grey and black and are a similar size to the honey bee.

• They make their small nests in leaves and hollow trees.