Explanation Writing: The cycle of a bee

Thursday 1st September 2016

Bees are social insects that live in organised groups called colonies .  Inside the hive,  there is a queen bee, many worker bees and male bees called drones.

The queen bee lays around 3000 eggs a day for the rest of her life and she never leaves the hive.

Four days after the eggs are laid, they hatch into larvae.  The larvae are fed with bee bread and this is a  mixture of pollen and nectar.

Nine days of hatching, the larvae gets covered in wax and they do not eat during this time. They begin the transformation into the pupa stage.

After 21 days the pupa starts to open and then a worker bee emerges and is ready to collect pollen to make honey for the hive.

This  life cycle is called metamorphosis.

Drones : A male bee

Glossary means:  an alphabetical list of words relating to a specific subject, text, or dialect, with explanations; a brief dictionary.

Pollen means: a fine powdery substance, typically yellow, consisting of microscopic grains discharged from the male part of a flower or from a male cone. Each grain contains a male gamete that can fertilize the female ovule, to which pollen is transported by the wind, insects, or other animals.

Larvae means: the active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa, e.g. a caterpillar or grubs.