How does the life cycle of a honey bee begin?

The life cycle of a honey bee begins as an egg laid by the queen. A queen bee has the primary role of reproduction within the hive, and she can lay hundreds to thousands of eggs in a single day, depending on the season and the needs of the colony. Each egg is deposited into a cell within the hive, where it will develop.

Once the egg is laid, it typically hatches into a larva after about three days. The development process continues from larva to pupa and eventually emerges as an adult bee. This lifecycle stage is crucial because it initiates the entire reproductive cycle of the colony. The subsequent phases, including larva and pupa stages, depend on the successful laying of the egg to ensure the continuation of the population. Thus, understanding that the lifecycle starts with the queen laying an egg is fundamental to both the biology of bees and the functioning of the hive.