Types of Bees in a Beehive and Their Roles
Understand the roles and lifespan of queen, worker, and drone bees in a beehive. Learn how tasks are divided and what each bee does to support the hive.
This table focuses on the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera), the species most commonly used in beekeeping worldwide, including in South Africa.
Types of Bees in a Beehive and Their Roles
| Bee Type | Number per Hive | Primary Tasks | Lifespan | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Bee | 1 | – Lays all the eggs (up to 2,000 per day in peak season) – Produces pheromones to regulate hive | Up to 5 years (average 2–3 years) | – Only sexually developed female – Cannot feed herself – Mated once in life, stores sperm for years |
| Worker Bees | 20,000 to 80,000 (seasonal) | Duties change with age (see below) | 6 weeks (summer) 4–6 months (winter) | – Sterile females – Most numerous caste – Perform all non-reproductive tasks |
| Drone Bees | Few hundred to 2,000 (seasonal) | – Mate with virgin queen during mating flights | 8 weeks (killed or expelled after mating season) | – Males – Do not forage or defend hive – Die immediately after mating |
Worker Bee Task Breakdown by Age
| Worker Bee Age (Days) | Tasks Performed |
|---|---|
| Day 1–3 | Cleans the cells (especially the one they hatched from) |
| Day 3–10 | Feeds older larvae with bee bread (pollen and nectar mixture) |
| Day 6–12 | Produces royal jelly to feed queen and young larvae |
| Day 12–18 | Builds comb (wax secretion begins) and caps brood cells |
| Day 14–20 | Guards the hive entrance, detects threats, defends against intruders |
| Day 18–42 (until death) | Forages for nectar, pollen, propolis, and water Becomes a field bee |
Detailed Notes on Each Bee Type
Queen Bee
- Production: Developed from a fertilised egg like workers, but fed exclusively on royal jelly in a larger cell.
- Mating: Mates with 10–20 drones mid-air during her one-time nuptial flight.
- Pheromones: Releases queen mandibular pheromone, which maintains social order and suppresses worker reproduction.
- Emergency Queens: Can be produced if the original queen dies or becomes weak.
Worker Bees
- Development Time: 21 days from egg to emergence.
- Winter Bees: Those born in late autumn live longer (up to 6 months) to sustain the colony during winter when brood rearing stops.
- Communication: Use the waggle dance to inform other foragers of nectar and pollen locations.
- Physiology: Have pollen baskets on hind legs (corbicula), a barbed stinger, and wax glands.
Drone Bees
- Development Time: 24 days from egg to emergence.
- Origin: Hatch from unfertilised eggs via parthenogenesis.
- Physical Traits: Larger eyes for spotting queens during flight, do not have stingers.
- Lifecycle Note: Typically expelled or killed at the end of the mating season to conserve hive resources.
Bee Lifecycle Timeline (for Apis mellifera)
| Bee Type | Egg Stage | Larva Stage | Pupa Stage | Total Development Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | 3 days | 5.5 days | 7.5 days | ~16 days |
| Worker | 3 days | 6 days | 12 days | ~21 days |
| Drone | 3 days | 6.5 days | 14.5 days | ~24 days |
Seasonal Population Variations
- Spring/Summer: Hive population peaks at 50,000–80,000 bees.
- Autumn/Winter: Population drops to around 10,000–20,000 bees; drones are expelled; brood rearing slows or stops.
Queenless Hive Behaviour
- Symptoms: Lack of eggs/larvae, increase in drone brood, and aggressive or erratic behaviour.
- Laying Workers: In absence of queen pheromone, some workers develop ovaries and lay unfertilised (drone) eggs.
- Remedy: Beekeepers must requeen or combine with a queenright colony (a colony that has a functional, reproductive queen) to restore normal hive function.
Comparison of Bee Castes
| Feature | Queen Bee | Worker Bee | Drone Bee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Female | Female | Male |
| Fertile | Yes | No | Yes (only for mating) |
| Main Role | Reproduction | All maintenance and survival tasks | Mate with queens |
| Has Stinger | Yes (smooth, rarely stings) | Yes (barbed, dies after stinging) | No |
| Forages | No | Yes | No |
| Can Produce Wax | No | Yes (ages 12–18 days) | No |
| Fed Royal Jelly | Yes (entire larval stage) | Yes (only first 3 days) | No |
Important Pheromones in the Hive
| Pheromone | Produced By | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP) | Queen | Suppresses worker ovary development; attracts retinue; coordinates colony |
| Nasonov Pheromone | Worker Bees | Used for orientation and hive location; attracts swarming bees |
| Alarm Pheromone | Worker Bees | Released when stinging; triggers aggressive defence by other workers |
These are the types of bees in a beehive.
Beginner bee farmers and people who are interested in bees need to understand what the role of each bee type is in a healthy hive.
It enables you to know what bees you are seeing around you and to form an appreciation of the organisation of a bee society.
While camping (we have been camping for more than 2 years), we one day unexpectedly became popular after a visit from a single bee, when bees started swarming into our tent.
It turned out that we had a bottle of honey with honey around the cap, invisible to us. I was forced to pour some honey into the lid of a tin and entice the bees to stay outside on a table. The bees cleaned the cap so that it looked like it came out of the dishwasher!
These are photos I took with my cellphone:
