Larva of the bee: stages of development before the adult, features of nutrition and interesting facts

The development of the bee, drone and uterus is divided into embryonic and postembryonic and consists of several stages: the egg, the larva, the pre-pupal, the pupa. The embryonic period begins from the moment of fertilization and represents the process of formation from the egg of a complex multicellular creature - the larva. The post-embryonic stage is the process of reincarnation of the larva into an adult. By the way, larvae of bees, young bees on any apiary are called "children".

Structure of the larva of the bee

The larva of the bee has a simple structure: a small head and a white vermiform body consisting of the abdominal and thoracic segments. The outer shell is covered with a thin chitinous layer. Among the internal organs (the same as the adult, only less developed), the intestine plays an important role, the front wall of which is represented by a short tube with muscles. Their reduction allows the bee's larva to suck in liquid food. Along the middle of the gut, which occupies a good part of the body, there are excretory organs - 4 Malpighian vessels. The hindgut has a curved shape with an anus at the end. It does not catch the remains of food, as the middle and back intestines do not communicate with each other. The connection of these departments occurs at the end of the described stage. The heart of the larva is located in the dorsal region and consists of 12 chambers, while in the adult insect there are 5. The respiratory organs are common tracheal trunks with multiple branches throughout the trunk. Strongly developed fatty layer, which is about 60-65% of the total body weight. The sexual organs and the nervous system are in an embryonic state; Eyes and organs of smell are absent. On the lower lip there are opening spinning glands. They produce a substance with which the larva spins a cocoon.

Artificial withdrawal of queens: the basis of the method

Between the intestines and the spinal vessel are placed the ovaries. Larvae of the working and uterine bees are similar in number of egg tubules. During the pre-pupal and pupal stage, larval organs and tissues decay. Also, egg tubules degenerate, which in an adult remains about 5 pieces. In the uterine larva, the formation of the ovaries continues in the pupal stage. The formation of numerous egg tubes in the larva is biologically important: in the case of death of the uterine larva, the bees are able to replace the "fistulous" uterus in return. This natural phenomenon formed the basis for the artificial withdrawal of queens.

Development of the larva of the bee

As soon as the larva emerges from the egg, it immediately lies on the bottom of the cell and falls into the caring embraces of adults, who immediately begin to zealously feed their "child". Bees-nurses lay on the bottom of the cell a large amount of royal jelly (5 times the weight of the larva) produced in the pharyngeal glands and characterized by high nutritional properties. Milk of the larvae of bees contains fats, carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamin B. The larva performs constant rotational, compressive and unclenching movements with the body, continuously consumes the prepared supplies and grows right before our eyes.

The period of active growth and uncontrollable appetite

If a "newborn" individual weighing 0.1 mg has a length of 1.6 mm, then a day it has time to grow by 1 mm. In two days its growth is already 6 mm. Concerning mass: after 5 days from the moment of birth, its indicator exceeds the original value by 1400-1500 times. Such an uncontrolled set of weights has a positive side: in the body of the larva there is an accumulation of a huge amount of nutrients that are a reserve in the period when the food will be inaccessible. Starting from the third day, the food becomes more diverse and enriched with a mush of pollen and honey. In addition to providing the younger generation with food, the bees-nurses constantly visit the growing larvae every minute. The total number of visits for the entire period of the larval stage is counted in thousands.

Sometimes it happens that bees throw out larvae. This is due to diseases (sack brood, European foulbrood, ascosphere and others) that have affected the bee family, or it is done to regulate the quantitative indicator. Assuming that the feed at all is not enough, the bees get rid of excess mouths. Larvae ejection can also occur due to starvation.

Moult: stages

The rapid growth of the larva does not affect the size of its outer garment - the shell, which only stretches a little. As soon as the latter becomes small, the bee larva, whose name among beekeepers sounds like a "baby", immediately changes it to a larger one and corresponds to the size, leaving the discarded clothing in the cell. During the growth and development of the larva, four molts occur, each lasting about half an hour. By the sixth day, the larva of the bee grows so much that it occupies the cell completely. At the same time, no fundamental changes are taking place with the larva and its organism. For the first time the insect molts 12-18 hours after birth. The second shell change takes place after 36 hours. The third time the attire is renewed after a lapse of 60 hours from the moment of hatching, and the last one - after 78-89 hours.

Pre-pupal stage of the larva

Then the larva of the bee enters the pre-pupal stage. The bee seals it - stretched along the length of the cell and located head to the hole, - an air-permeable porous lid consisting of 2% water, 46% light brown mass with pollen in the composition and 58% wax. The sealed insect is immediately freed from accumulated food debris by squeezing the walls of the stomach and breaking its back. This specific feature of getting rid of excrement only after the end of feeding helps maintain the necessary purity in the hive, as well as the protection of the food received from contamination.

Preparing to turn into a doll

As soon as the larvae of the bees in the honeycombs are freed from undigested food, they immediately begin to spin the cocoon, that is, the internal cavity of the cell is braided with the secret of the spinning glands. The larva of the worker bee does not feed in such a responsible work; The uterine is interrupted for food and creates a cocoon with an opening directed to the bottom of the cell. It is from there that the bee larva feeds on royal jelly in the process of work. The cocoon of working larvae has no holes. In the larval stage the future bee is 6 days, the drone is 7 days, the uterus is 5 days.

Another moult larva of a honey bee survives, being in a cocoon. True, now such a process is not similar to the previous one: from the surface of the body, a special fluid is released, which contributes to the separation of the old and newly formed cuticle. At the last moult, the rudiments of all the appendages that previously existed on the inner side of the body shell are outwardly outward and gradually formed into the outer parts of the body. In this way, the bee is preparing for reincarnation in the pupa. The puncture stage in the bee and uterine larva proceeds 2 days, in the drone - 2 times longer.

Formation of an adult insect

The changes that have begun in the podkokolnoy stage gradually transform the formless insect into an adult: the abdomen, the thoracic part and the head are formed, on which antennas, mouth organs, and simple and complex eyes are already drawn. In the thoracic part there is a formation of the rudiments of the legs and two pairs of wings. The abdomen enlarges the dorsal rings - tergites. Ventral semirings are sternites, cover the lower part of the abdomen and connect with each other and with tergites thin film. The fatty body decreases sharply, because with the end of nutrition it is only a source of energy for the transformation of larval organs.

Nutritional reserves, accumulated in the body for an intensive period of feeding, are gradually drawn up in the future organs. In passing, the body color changes: from light yellow through violet to black or brown. The process of staining starts from the eyes, goes over to the head, thoracic part and abdomen.

The final stage of the larva

The final stage of the development of the larva is the pupa - superficially resembling an adult insect, only having a white color. Being in a state of complete rest, without food, the emerging insect undergoes cardinal changes: some organs disappear completely, others partially. As soon as this process is over - the pupa will turn into a working uterus, a drone or a bee, with upper jaws it will chew the lid and come out of the cell.

A young uterus to get out helps working bees; They chew the top of the cocoon, so that it becomes gray-white. It is for this color that you can determine from which cell the new uterus hatches. The general cycle of development from an egg to an adult insect lasts 21 days for a worker's bee, 16 days for the uterus and 24 days for a drone. For a qualitative development of all representatives of the bee family in the nest, there should be a constant temperature of + 34-35 ° C, as well as sufficient food reserves and the number of bees-wet-nurses.