Members of the colony

1 . What are the three types of individuals within a honey bee colony?

Worker (female from a fertilized egg), Queen (female from a fertilized egg) and Drone (male from an unfertilized egg)

2 . What role does each individual play?

Workers – as their name implies, they do all the work. Worker bees forage for nectar, pollen, water, & propolis, feed the brood, construct the comb, clean the cells, attend the queen, maintain optimal temperatures, communicate needs of the colony, and guard the nest.

Queens – mate with a number of drones (reproduce) and lay eggs

Drones – primary responsibility is to mate with the queen

3 . What is a “caste”?

Functionally (morphologically and reproductively) different form of the same sex.

4 . How many castes are there in a honey bee colony?

Two; Queen and Worker