The bee larva is not at all like an adult bee. She, unlike the aggressive and hardworking melliferous, is completely inert and defenseless. Being at different levels of the food chain, adults and larvae consume different resources, so they are not rivals in matters of food.
The structure of the bee larva
The bee larva is simple in structure. Her distinguishing features:
- small head;
- color - white or light yellow;
- body shape is worm-shaped;
- the body consists of several segments - thoracic and abdominal;
- the outer shell has a chitinous shell.
The larva has the same internal organs as the adult, but not fully developed.
The head of bees larvae is very small - it consists practically of one jaw. Larvae eat a lot, carefully chewing food - animal and vegetable.
Internal organs:
- Intestines - This is the most important internal organ of the larvae. Its structure:
- Foregut - A short tube with developed muscles. Due to the contractions of the intestine, the larva absorbs liquid food.
- Mid gut - occupies the main part of the body. Along it stretched organs of excretion - four malpigium vessels.
- Hind gut - has a curved shape. At the end is the anus.
While the larva eats and grows, it does not secrete feces - the bees do not have to clean it. At first, the remnants of food do not enter the anus, since the hind gut does not communicate with the middle gut. They connect later.
The rest of the structure:
- A heart. It has 12 cameras. Located in the back. Adult insects have only 5 chambers.
- Respiratory system. These are tracheal trunks with many branches - located throughout the body.
- Fat layer. It makes up to 65% of the total mass. In the fat layer, plastic substances accumulate.
- Nervous system. Two nodes of the elementary structure - supraglottal and subglottal.
- Genitals. They are underdeveloped, are in their infancy. Throughout life, the larvae grow ovary rudiments. The drone larvae have the rudiments of the testes.
- The beginnings of organs. Larvae have the likeness of legs, wings, and other organs of an adult insect, which form even at the stage of the embryo.
The larva has no eyes and no sense of smell. Thanks to the spinning glands located on the lower lip, future bees spin cocoons.
Developmental stages
Bees are insects that undergo a complete transformation. Before the worms, which in the future become bees, begin spinning, the skin has time to change four times! Each stage of development of an individual is characterized by a specific body structure, characteristics of nutrition and behavior. The entire period of development of the larvae is divided into 4 stages:
- eggs
- larvae;
- pupae;
- adults.
Active growth
Each adult bee grows from an egg "laid" by the uterus. The progeny producer attaches the eggs to the bottoms of the honeycombs. After a day, the eggs bend, and after three - they take a horizontal position, laying on the bottom of the cell. The egg turns into a small white larva.
First, the larva receives milk from the uterus - it lays it directly in the cell. She is fed milk for three days. On the fourth day, young growth is fed with bee bread and honey. The first stage of development lasts three days and is completely identical for all categories of the bee genus - queens, working bees and drones.
The uterus is obtained from fetal eggs, drones - from infertile.
Within six days, active development is observed. This stage is characterized by rapid growth. Weight from 0.1 mg increases to 150 mg. There comes a time when the angry creature becomes crowded - it stretches along the cell, moving his head to the exit. By this time, the feeding ends. At the first stage, the formation of the rudiments of the legs and antennae, of all internal organs.
To grow 10 thousand larvae, 0.5 kg of pollen and 1 kg of honey are consumed. To feed one germ, you need a whole cell of bee bread.
After 6 days, the uterus seals the cells with the young. For sealing, a special composition of wax and pollen is used. The uterus leaves a hole - for air to enter. Being in a sealed honeycomb, the larvae begin to create cocoons around themselves, turning into pre-pupae.
Pre-pup
Once in a sealed cell, the larva straightens and spins a cocoon - pupates. This is the pre-school stage. Inside the spun cocoon, a pre-pup develops. After a day, the process ends. After a few hours - molting. It's time to change the skin again. The old shell is sent to the end of the cell, where it mixes with the stool.
Doll
This stage can be called the stage of an adult bee. The skeleton of the pupa hardens, becomes dark. After a few days, young individuals appear. As soon as the last - fourth skin change occurs, the bees begin to gnaw at the lid that covers the cell. As soon as the path is clear, the young insect is set free.
When an individual gets out of the cell, it leaves its cocoon in it. Since each cell has been serving for many generations for years, the white honeycombs eventually turn yellow, then light brown, then completely dark. The bottom and walls become thicker, so the old honeycombs look narrower and shorter - they develop weak individuals, with small wings and a short proboscis.
Young animals, unlike old individuals, have a chitinous skeleton and a soft body covered with thin hairs. Over time, the shell hardens, the hairs wear on the walls, the bee's body becomes shiny and hairless. The development of a working bee lasts approximately 21 days.
Molting
The larva grows, and its peel retains its original size. We have to shed old skin so that the plump body gets a new, more comfortable “shirt”. We repeat - the larva molts four times before sealing the cell.
Before molting begins, food is stopped. The shell, losing its luster, becomes dull. Old skin, bursting in the head, is torn along the back. A larva with a new skin crawls out of the hole formed. The process of skin change lasts 1 hour 20 minutes.
Immediately after molting, the individual remains motionless and absorbs a minimum of feed. The discarded carapace is not thrown away - it remains in the cell. 6 days after hatching from an egg, the larva receives the last portion of food, it is sealed in a comb - it begins to spin the cocoon. An individual copes with the task in 24 hours. Next, a fifth molt catches the future bee - this happens 4 hours after the completion of the cocoon spinning. A creature born after the 5th molt is no longer a larva. He has all the signs of an adult bee.
Pupa is a preliminary stage, separated from the adult by one more - the final molt. As soon as the last change of skin ends, the insect comes out, gnawing the lid of the honeycomb.
Care
For a bee family to live and develop safely, it needs a certain microclimate. Bees are sensitive to any changes in conditions - temperature, humidity, concentration of carbon dioxide. The optimum temperature in the brood zone is + 35 ° C, humidity is 80-85%. If the temperature drops the bees become passive - they save energy.
Carbon dioxide content
The concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the hive depends on the characteristics of a particular bee family - its strength and development. Bees respond to changes in carbon dioxide by thermal receptors. Its concentration varies from the periphery to the center and depending on the season.
When transporting bees by road, the carbon dioxide content in the hives reaches 4%. Insects get stress, tend to go into the space above the frames - this affects the gas exchange. If the ventilation is inadequate, the bees may die without surviving transportation.
When the season comes to an end, gas concentration rises from the periphery to the center. In the beginning of autumn and spring, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the center is 1.1%, and on the periphery - 0.6%. When the cold comes, the values change to 3 and 1%, respectively.
Nutrition
The feed is laid 2-4 times more than the volume of the egg. If there is not enough food, the larva will die of malnutrition. After contact with bee milk, the egg cracks, the body of the larva is shown. If there is no food, the egg will dry without cracking - death occurs.
The first days, young animals are fed with milk produced by young bees. Further feeding depends on the hierarchy:
- future uterus - the diet does not change;
- working bees and drones - get honey and bee bread.
Rapid weight gain occurs. After 5 days, the larvae weigh:
- queen bees - 340 mg;
- drones - 360 mg;
- working bees - 130-150 mg.
The future queen will receive food 1600 times, working bees - 140-150 times.
Temperature
At the first stage of development, the larva is extremely vulnerable - it needs a certain ambient temperature. If the temperature is below normal for at least 15 minutes - during the first 8-14 hours of development, an individual will develop from the egg, combining the signs of a bee and a drone.
With a prolonged temperature deviation in any direction, the insects will die.
Temperature affects the developmental time of the larvae of the uterus, drones and working bees. The optimum temperature is + 32 ... + 35 ° C. If the temperature drops to + 30 ° C, the duration of development will increase; if it rises to + 38 ° C, it will decrease.
Humidity
In the hive, it is important to organize good air exchange. For this purpose, there are upper notches in the hives and there are ventilation slots. If the ventilation is insufficient, condensation appears, due to which mold can appear on the walls of the hive, and the wood acquires a maximum humidity of 30%.
For the whole time of life, the bee family needs 30 liters of water. Water carriers daily make up to 100 sorties, each time bringing to the nest 30-50 mg.
Honey can influence the humidity of the nest, moreover, it not only moisturizes, but also drains the space inside the hive. What you need to know about humidity:
- If the air humidity reaches 60-65%, and honey contains 17-18% of water, then the moisture is not given away and is not absorbed.
- If the humidity rises to 70%, honey absorbs water vapor - it contains up to 30% of water.
In winter, bees consume food with a water content of 30%. Winter stocks do not have that much moisture. Therefore, the humidity of the feed is increased either by the bees themselves, or due to the humidity of the hive. With a decrease in insect activity, regardless of the time of year, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the hive increases. Before the cold snap - in the pre-winter period, the oxygen content decreases, and the humidity increases.
What is the difference between the development of the larvae of the working bee, uterus and drone?
The formation of larvae lasts:
- queens - 16 days;
- working bee - 21 days;
- drone - 24 days.
Worker bees are the foundation of a bee swarm. It is they who feed the whole family - from birth to procreation. They also:
- build housing for the bee family;
- perform the functions of security guards;
- harvest food and prepare it;
- cleaned in honeycombs and much more.
At the same time, the toiler is much smaller than the drone and uterus. They do not mate with drones, as they do not have full genitals.
Drones have a lifespan of 2.5 months.
Drones are males that are needed to fertilize the queen. After talking with the female, the drone dies, as it loses part of the reproductive organ. Being born in the spring, males live until the fall - while they have the ability to reproduce. Drones mature 10-14 days after exiting the cell.
Developmental stages | Development timeline | ||
bee | uterus | drone | |
egg | 3 | 3 | 3 |
larva | 6 | 5 | 7 |
pre-pup | 3 | 2 | 4 |
chrysalis | 9 | 6 | 10 |
developmental duration | 21 | 16 | 24 |
The development of drones and working bees is practically no different, except for the duration of development. The larvae of the uterus, bees and drone go through the same stages - an egg, a larva, a chrysalis, and a pupa. The larvae of the first two emerge from fertilized eggs, and drones from unfertilized ones.
What is a homogenate?
A homogenate is the contents of a cell, including the larva itself and bee products. There are types of homogenate:
- Drone - milk of pressed drone larvae.
- Uterine - the most valuable product. It has a high content of royal jelly.
- Working bees - in it there are actually only larvae. This product is in little demand.
The drone homogenate is extracted from cells with larvae of 6-7 day old. They are removed from the honeycombs, and then rubbed into a homogeneous (homogeneous) mass. The product rapidly loses its properties under the influence of sunlight. It is stored at a temperature of -5 ° C to -8 ° C. Shelf life - 1 month. It has a wide spectrum of action - from increasing immunity to increasing libido.
Uterine homogenate is obtained from three-day old queen bee larvae. A unique product actually consists of stem cells. It is a battery of bioactive substances and helps the regeneration of an aging organism.
Drone and uterine homogenate contain the same vitamins. In the first there are more decenic acids, in the second - proteins. They contain natural hormones - testosterone, estradiol, progesterone. There are no hormones in the bee homogenate, but there are decenic acids in it.
Artificial conclusion of queen bees
There are several cases when you have to grow a new queen bee:
- For replacing an old bee.
- To form a layering family.
- If the existing bee-keeper died.
- For large volumes of hemogenate and royal jelly.
The problem is solved by itself only in the third case - if there is brood within the framework. The larvae should be transferred to the queen cells and fed with milk. In all other cases, human intervention is necessary.
The beekeeper talks about the withdrawal of queen bees. A beekeeper specialist tells and shows how to put a honeycomb to get one-day larvae:
There are two ways to remove the uterus artificially:
- A frame with eggs and brood is taken away from a large and strong bee family. A 3x4 cm hole is cut from above. The lower walls of the slice are removed. Two larvae are left. Rama is placed in a beehive to a motherless family. The method allows to obtain high-quality material.
- This method is used if you want to remove several queens at once. A queen is placed in a good family, isolating her between two frames. After 4 days, it is transferred to the nucleus (special hive) with honey, bees and sushi. The brood frame obtained in 4 days must be returned to the “native” hive. We need to work on it - cut cells without larvae.
For more information on hatching, see here.
Bee larvae, being potential adult individuals, can not only replenish the bee family with a uterus, drones or working bees, but also provide a valuable product used in medicine.
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