Almost every bee I handle on a job is a worker. When I cut open a wall and lift out comb, the bees covering it, the ones flying around my veil and the ones bringing in pollen are all workers. After more than 15 years with bees, I still think the way they split up the work is one of the smartest things in nature.
Short answer: Worker bees are sterile females that do every job in the colony except laying eggs and mating. They change jobs as they age: cleaning cells first, then nursing larvae, making wax, guarding the entrance, and finally foraging for nectar, pollen, water and resin. In summer a worker lives about five to six weeks.
What is a worker bee?
A worker bee is a female honey bee that doesn't reproduce. Purdue Extension describes workers as infertile females, the most numerous members of the colony, who perform all of the colony's tasks except reproduction.
That's why a hive can hold tens of thousands of bees but only one queen. The queen lays the eggs. The drones are there to mate. Everything else, from feeding babies to fighting off robbers, falls on the workers. If you want to know how a worker develops before she ever starts working, see how long it takes a bee to be born.
What jobs does a worker bee do as she ages?
Workers move through a series of jobs in a fairly set order, starting inside the hive and ending outside it. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension honey bee biology guide lays out a typical schedule:
| Age after emerging | Main job |
|---|---|
| First days | Cleaning cells. It's the first job workers do as adults. |
| About 6 days | Nurse bee, feeding larvae once her hypopharyngeal glands develop |
| About 12 days | Wax glands start producing wax for building comb and capping cells |
| About 18 days | Orientation flights begin |
| 18 to 24 days | Guarding the hive entrance |
| 21 days and older | Foraging, the job of the oldest workers |
Treat those ages as a typical schedule. The guide also lists jobs like undertaking (carrying dead bees out of the hive) without a set age. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions describes the same general pattern: young workers tend the brood in the center of the hive, while older workers guard and maintain it, including removing dead bees.
What do nurse bees do?
Nurse bees feed the larvae. Texas A&M says workers become nurse bees after their hypopharyngeal glands develop, at about 6 days old. Those glands are in the head, and they produce the protein-rich food young larvae live on. The same glands make royal jelly, which I cover in what royal jelly is.
When I pull brood comb out of a wall, there are always bees packed tightly over it, and in my experience they tend to stay with the brood even when the comb is moved. That's a big help when I'm transferring a colony into a bee box.
What does a guard bee do?
Guard bees stand at the entrance and check who's coming in. Texas A&M says workers begin guarding at 18 to 24 days after emerging, not long after their first orientation flights.
This is the job homeowners notice most. If you walk up to a crack in the stucco or the edge of a roof tile where bees are going in and out, the guards are the ones that come out to meet you. Every worker carries a barbed stinger, and she dies after she uses it, so a guard that stings is giving up her life for the colony. That's also why I always tell people to stay back from an entrance and never plug it or spray it while bees are inside.
What do forager bees do?
Foragers are the oldest workers, and they bring in everything the colony needs from outside. According to Texas A&M, foragers are 21 days and older and collect four things:
- Nectar, the colony's carbohydrate
- Pollen, its protein
- Water
- Propolis, the tree resin bees use to seal the hive
The same guide describes how foragers hand off loads of nectar to other workers inside, who start evaporating the water out before the nectar goes into a cell. If you're curious what's actually in that nectar, read what nutrients are in nectar.
How long does a worker bee live?
About five to six weeks in the busy season, and four to six months for workers raised to get the colony through winter. Both numbers come from the Extension Bee Health project.
The same source explains why summer workers die so young: they work nonstop, and death comes after approximately 500 miles of flight. The colony keeps going because the queen keeps laying and new workers keep emerging to take over each job.
Why does the worker bee's job matter for a hive in your house?
Because the workers are the ones building that hive. Every comb in a wall, every cell of honey and every bee guarding the entrance is worker labor. A colony that's been in your wall for a season has thousands of workers coming and going and new ones emerging every day to replace them.
That's also why the job has to be done right. Spraying kills the foragers that happen to be home and leaves the comb, brood and honey behind the wall. A live removal takes out the bees and all of the comb so the colony can be relocated to a beekeeper and keep working somewhere it belongs. I've opened walls like this in Montclair, Claremont and Chino Hills, and on a live removal the bees go into a box headed for a new home.
Bees working out of a crack in your house?
Stay back from the entrance and call or text a photo to (626) 487-6052. Inspections are free. I answer calls and texts 7 days a week and do removals Monday through Saturday across Orange County, the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County.
Frequently asked questions
What are the jobs of a worker bee?
Are all worker bees female?
How long does a worker bee live?
At what age do worker bees start foraging?
Why do guard bees sting?
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