Worker bee
Also known as: Worker, Worker honey bee
A worker bee is a female honey bee that normally does not lay eggs and does nearly all the colony's work.
A worker bee is a female honey bee that normally does not lay eggs and does nearly all the colony's work. Young nurse bees turn stored pollen into brood food, and the glands of nurse bees aged 6–12 days secrete royal jelly.
Young workers build the comb themselves from wax that their own glands secrete (FAO, MSU). Bees cluster and shiver to warm the brood: once the queen starts laying again, the brood nest must be held at about 35 °C (95 °F).
A package or a nuc contains about 10,000 worker bees (MSU). Older workers are more prone to sting. Winter bees are physiologically different from summer bees: they carry more fat and survive several months of winter; the best winter bees are reared in autumn on pollen-rich plants.
Why this matters to you. The honey, wax and propolis in products are the result of workers' labour, and that labour follows the season: in summer foragers collect nectar and pollen, in winter the colony lives on long-lived winter bees. So autumn care of a colony decides its start in spring.
Facts
| Main use | Feeding brood, building comb, warming the nest, collecting nectar and pollen |
|---|---|
| House range | A package or nuc holds about 10,000 workers |
| Temperature | Brood nest about 35 °C (95 °F) |
| Duration | Winter bees carry more fat and live several months |
How it connects to Honey & beekeeping
Worker bee → kind of → 🐝 Bees → gives → 🍯 Honey
Links
- Part of
- 🐝 Bees
- Similar and different
- Beeswax, Western honey bee, Honey bee colony life cycle
Frequently asked questions
What do worker bees do?
They feed the brood, build comb and warm the nest; foragers collect nectar and pollen.
What do young bees secrete to build comb?
Wax platelets from eight glands on the underside of the abdomen (FAO).
Is it true that all worker bees live equally long?
No: winter bees are physiologically different from summer bees, carry more fat and survive several months of winter (MSU).
How many workers are in a package or nuc?
About 10,000 (MSU).
What temperature is held in the brood nest?
About 35 °C (95 °F): bees cluster and shiver (MSU).
What to read next
- Western honey bee — The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the bee species kept in frame hives across most of the world for honey, beeswax and pollination.
- Beeswax — Beeswax is the natural wax that young honey bees secrete and use to build their combs.
- Honey bee colony life cycle — The honey bee colony life cycle covers how queens, workers and drones develop from egg to adult and how the colony changes over the year, from spring build-up to winter.
Similar
Carniolan honey bee · Italian honey bee · European dark bee · Swarming · Queen bee · Drone bee
Sources
- Mississippi State University Extension: Beginning Beekeeping in Mississippi
- Mississippi State University Extension: Colony Growth and Seasonal Management of Honey Bees
- Penn State Extension: An Introduction to Queen Honey Bee Development (Anton, Grozinger, 2025)