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It is estimated that one-third of human food production depends on insect pollination, of which the bee is the most efficient pollinator of flowering plants in the wild. According to FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 71 of the 100 species of food crops that make up 90% of human food are pollinated by them.
Because of this, the care and perpetuation of this species for human survival as well as flora and fauna survival worldwide are essential.
Its scientific name is Anthophila and they are part of the Hymenoptera order of insects. The most common bee is the honey bee or apis mellifera.
They live in hives of up to 80,000 individuals and are made up of 3 types of bee or castes, queen bee, worker bees and drones, each of these bees has a specific function in the hive and a different life cycle.
The Queen bee
The queen bee controls the hive by means of pheromones, through which it transmits its presence to the other bees, controls the workers, promotes the collection of nectar, attracts the drones during fertilization flights, among other things.
It is the only fertile bee, it deposits the eggs from which all bees are born from the hive. The fertilized eggs give rise to the working bee and the eggs without fertilizing produce the drones. The eggs are placed in hexagonal wax honeycombs which are built by working bees.
The development process from larva to adult bee lasts approximately 20 days although the development period is different for each breed.
Queen bees are not bred in the same cells as the others, their cell is larger and is positioned upright. The queen is fed with royal jelly throughout its life. Worker and drones bees are fed with royal jale during the first days of the larval state then it moves to a diet based on pollen, nectar and diluted honey.
Working Bees
The worker bees make up for most of the population in the hive. They are smaller than the queen bee and are infertile bees. Throughout their lives, they play different roles and duties. they segregate the wax for the construction of panels, collect pollen and nectar, feed and raise the larvae and they also monitor and maintain the hive. Each of these functions is performed according to their age. The life cycle of these bees is approximately three months.
Drones
The drones are the male bees of the colony. They are born from the unfertilized eggs that the queen bee has laid. They appear in spring and their life cycle is approximately 65 days. The breeding season is from spring to early fall. Their only function in the hive is to fertilize the queen bee during the fertilization flights. After a successful copulation, the drones die.