Editing Worker bee (section)

== Life cycle ==
Honey bee workers maintain the hive temperature in the critical brood area where new bees are hatched and raised. Workers must maintain the hive's brood chamber within a range of {{convert|34|-|36|C|F}}. If the chamber becomes too hot, the workers collect water or diluted nectar and deposit it around the hive, then fan the air with their wings to generate cooling by evaporation. If the chamber becomes too cold, worker bees can increase the temperature of their thoracic muscles using [[Isometric exercise|isometric contractions]], pressing their warmed muscles against caps or walls of brood cells.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Zhiyong |last2=Huang |first2=Zachary Y. |last3=Sharma |first3=Dhruv B. |last4=Xue |first4=Yunbo |last5=Wang |first5=Zhi |last6=Ren |first6=Bingzhong |date=2016-02-16 |title=Drone and Worker Brood Microclimates Are Regulated Differentially in Honey Bees, Apis mellifera |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=e0148740 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0148740 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=4755576 |pmid=26882104|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1148740L }}</ref> In the wintertime, worker bees can [[Winter cluster|cluster together]] to generate body heat to keep the brood area warm as external temperature decreases.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honey Bee Management Throughout the Seasons |url=https://extension.psu.edu/honey-bee-management-throughout-the-seasons |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=extension.psu.edu |language=en}}</ref>

The life span of a worker bee fluctuates between the summer and winter months. In the summertime, worker bees typically only live two to six weeks compared to wintertime when workers can live up to 20 weeks. The reason for this difference lies in interior physiological processes that worker bees experience, and external factors, such as bees not leaving the relative safety of the hive during the colder winter months. Worker bees are exposed to a lot more risks during the summer months when they leave the hive to forage, and therefore have a shorter relative lifespan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prado |first1=Alberto |last2=Requier |first2=Fabrice |last3=Crauser |first3=Didier |last4=Le Conte |first4=Yves |last5=Bretagnolle |first5=Vincent |last6=Alaux |first6=Cédric |date=November 2020 |title=Honeybee lifespan: the critical role of pre-foraging stage |journal=Royal Society Open Science |language=en |volume=7 |issue=11 |pages=200998 |doi=10.1098/rsos.200998 |issn=2054-5703 |pmc=7735337 |pmid=33391795|bibcode=2020RSOS....700998P }}</ref>

Honey bees begin as an egg laid by the queen in the brood nest, located near the center of the hive. Worker eggs are laid in smaller cells compared to drone eggs, and will hatch after three days into a larva. Nurse bees feed it [[royal jelly]] for three days,<ref>{{Citation |title=Royal Jelly |date=2012 |work=LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK580274/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |place=Bethesda (MD) |publisher=National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases |pmid=35593875}}</ref> followed by pollen and honey for about two more days until the cell is capped by worker bees. The larva spins itself into a cocoon and becomes an inactive pupa. During this 10-day stage, the bee begins to develop features such as eyes, wings, legs and other features that adult bees possess. After this 21 day developmental period, the adult bee will chew through its wax cap and cocoon and emerge into the hive as a fully grown bee, immediately beginning its roles in the hive.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stages Of Bee Growth – Honey Bee Research Centre |url=https://hbrc.ca/stages-of-bee-growth/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=hbrc.ca}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Type
!Egg
!Larva
!Cell capped
!Pupa
!Average Developmental Period
(Days until emergence)
!Start of Fertility
!Body Length
!Hatching Weight
|-
|'''Worker'''
|up to Day 3
|up to Day 9
|Day 9
|Day 10 until emergence (Day 11 or 12 last moult)
|21 days
(range: 18–22 days)
|N/A
|12–15&nbsp;mm
|nearly 100&nbsp;mg
|-
|}