Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
larvae grat ed from worker-sized cells in artii cially produced queen-
sized cells. Grat ed larvae need to be less than about 2 to 2
1
⁄
2
days old to
develop into queens. h e resulting queens are normally indistinguish-
able from queens raised by colonies under normal queen-rearing condi-
tions. Compared with workers, queens are about twice the size and
weight (about 200 milligrams), have a smooth sting rather than a barbed
one, have a shorter tongue, do not have a pollen-carrying apparatus on
their hind legs, and have notched mandibles, larger mandibular glands,
no wax glands, a fully developed spermatheca (a spherical organ for stor-
ing sperm), faster development time from egg to adult (16 versus 21 days),
and on average around 140 to 160 ovarioles (egg-making i laments of the
ovary) per ovary, compared with 2 to 6 for workers (Figure 8.2).
h e quality (sugar content) and quantity of food fed to larvae by
nurse bees determine the fate of the developing larva: queen or worker.
Figure 8.2.
A queen with a retinue of workers. h e retinue constantly feeds and
grooms the queen. Photo by Harry Laidlaw.
