ttps:////»https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd»>
It all starts with a queen bee. A few days after being born, she is ready for her first and only courtship, marked by the so-called nuptial flight, in which she is followed by a procession of drones. Once fertilized, it goes in search of a new home, along with the service bees, which carry a little wax.
The ideal location is a crack or hole in a tree or wall. “With the material brought from the old nest, they build the first honeycomb”, says entomologist Maria Cristina de Almeida, from the Federal University of Paraná. The workers seal the gaps with propolis, known for its medicinal effects and secreted by their own glands.
Once construction is complete, the queen starts her lineage, laying the larvae. Daughters chosen for future queens — it is not known by what criteria — are fed royal jelly for a longer time, a substance rich in vitamins also secreted by bee glands. The others are condemned to be vassals: they take care of the cleaning, defend the hive, look for food, produce honey and feed the larvae. The queens that are born will do the same as the mother: they will be fertilized, they will gather their workers and form their own hives.
The entire process of building the hive obeys the command of the queen bee.
1. Days after being born, the queen is ready for her nuptial flight, in which she is followed by several drones
2. Each queen is fertilized by up to 8 males, who die after losing part of their bodies during the sexual act.
3. With worker bees and wax brought from the previous nest, the queen builds the first comb of the new hive. The gaps are sealed with propolis, a mixture of resins extracted from plants with glandular secretions from bees.
4. Once the hive is built, the new queen lays her larvae. Some of them, chosen for future queens, will receive a different food: royal jelly