Each cell is a different size determining the kind of bee that it will produce. If the cell is standard worker-sized cell, she releases a fertilized egg into the cell, that will later produce into a worker bee (female). If the queen chooses a wider drone-size cell, the queen releases an unfertilized egg that will become a drone bee (male). Three days after the queen lays the egg, it hatches into a larva. In larva stage, it grows quickly, shedding their skin five times. In this stage, the larva consumes 1,300 meals a day, nurse bees feed the larva royal jelly, and later they feed then bee bread (honey and pollen). After five days, they are 1,570 times larger than their original size. At this time the worker bees seal the larvae in the cell with a porous capping of tan beeswax. Once sealed in, the larvae spin a cocoon around their bodies which then starts the pupa stage. In the pupa stage, the pupa is beginning to take on the familiar features of an adult bee. Eyes, legs, and wings take shape, and to end it all, the fine hairs that cover the bee’s body develop. After twelve days, the now adult bee chews her way through the wax capping.

VENOM INGREDIENTS AND FACTS

REACTIONS TO BEE STING

Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that is potentially life-threatening, is the most serious reaction our body's immune system can launch to defend against the venom