Читать книгу Beekeeping For Dummies - Howland Blackiston - Страница 65

In regions where winter means “cold,” the hive is virtually dormant. The adult bees are in a tight cluster for warmth, and their queen is snugly safe in the center of it all. But as the days lengthen and the spring season approaches, the bees begin feeding the queen royal jelly. This special food (secreted from the glands near the workers’ mandibles) is rich in protein and stimulates the queen to start laying eggs.

Like butterflies, honey bees develop in four distinct phases: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The total development time varies a bit among the three types of bees, but the basic miraculous process is the same: 16 days for queens, 21 days for worker bees, and 24 days for drones.