Honeybeesocial organization and life cycle

HONEYBEE

BY-

ANKITA SAHAY (12BSZBC003)

NIDHI SINGH (12BSLSCFS004)

CLASSIFICATION

Phylum- Arthropoda

Subphylum-Mandibulata

Class- Insecta

Subclass- Pterygota

Division- Endopterygota

Order- Hymnoptera

Family- Apidae

Genus- Apis

Honeybee is a social insect living in colonies of 50,000 or

more individuals.

Honeybees are mostly vegetables feeders preferably

living on pollen and nectar of flowers.

The honeybees live in highly organized colony wherein a

perfect corporate life under strict discipline is exhibited.

Excellent division of labour. With the common aim of

keeping the good of the society in view, make the life very

harmonious and extremely busy.

CONTI…….

Honey bees live in hives.

Three spices of Apis mainly found in

India:

- Apis dorsata(Rock bee)

- Apis florea

- Apis indica

SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF

HONEYBEES….

A highly organized division of labour is found in the colony of

honey bee .

consisting of 3 castes

Queen bee

Worker bee &

Drones.

QUEEN

15-20mm long with tapering abdomen and short legs and

wings.

The queen is capable of producing up to 2,000 eggs each

day.

The queen is the only sexually productive female in the colony and thus is the mother of all drones, workers, and

future queens .

Queen can survive up to

five years.

It’s fed on royal jelly

only.

Queens control their workers by releasing

pheromones known as

the queen’s scent.

Get fertilized only once in her life time where drone

release cores of sperms.

The drone is the male member of the honey

bee colony which fertilizes the queen so called as king of the

colony.

They take 24 days to developed from the egg to the adult

stage.

Developed parthenogenetically

from unfertilized eggs.

500-1000 in number.

Large eyes, reduced mouth parts, powerful wings.

The sting and the wax glands are absent.

In the males the reproductive organs are very well developed.

Smallest of the three caste.

Produced from fertilized egg.

They develop from egg to adult in

21 days.

Life span- six weeks.

All outdoors and indoors activity

are perform by worker honeybee.

WORKER:-

WORKER HONEYBEES ARE PROVIDED BY SPECIAL

STRUCTURES FOR DIFFERENT WORK

Long proboscis.

Strong wings.

Pollen basket.

Powerful sting.

Wax gland.

HONEY BEE WITH FULL OF POLLEN BASKET

Workers are grouped for specialized duties.

Nursery bee attempt the queen and look after nursery.

Builder bee produce wax for preparation of hives.

Repairers bee repair the hives.

Cleaner bee keeps clean the hives from dead body and

other impurities.

Fanners perform fanning.

Guard bees protect the hives from any external attack.

Life cycle

LIFE CYCLE

The life cycle of a honey bee is perennial.

Queen takes a Nuptial flight and followed by drones.

Queen receives spermatophore and stores them intospermatheca.

Fertilization takes place.

Queen lays egg in brood cell.

Honey bee queens are able to lay unfertilized eggs.

After some time egg hatches and larvae emerges out.

Larvae emerges from both fertilized and unfertilizedeggs.

Worker honeybee feed hatched larvae.

EGGS IN BROOD CELLS

The larvae emerges from the fertilized eggs are fed on the royal jelly only for five days.

Larvae reaches full growth.

Brood cell is sealed by the worker bee.

Larvae converted into pupa and then adult bee comes out of the sealed brood cell.

All the bees goes through a complete metamorphosis division.

Honeybee pupa

Each member of a colony develops as an adult over varying durations.

Queens become full-grown adults within 16 days; drones develop in under 24 days.

Female workers require 21 days during larval and pupa development.

ADULT HONEYBEE…..

When an existing queen dies or becomes incapable of laying eggs, worker honey bees raise a new queen.

As the new queen becomes a young adult, she attends a nuptial flight, mating with several drones.

With sperm stored from the mating flight, she begins to lay eggs inside the hive.

As a queen ages, she produces fewer eggs, and the pattern of the eggs within each cell begins to

appear less orderly.

workers will forage for food, build a strong and well-insulated hive, take care of larvae and defend the

colony from enemies.

In order for a colony to survive, the honey bee queen needs to lay a plentitude of fertilized eggs.

Swarming:-

The process of leaving the colony by the queen with a large group of worker bees is called swarming.

Supersedure:-when the egg laying capacity of the old queen is lost, it dies or new queen takes the position of the old queen.

Absconding:-

Migration of the complete colony from one place to another due to some unfavorable conditions.

Fact about honeybees