Worker bees bear the entire burden of the colony, and work without stopping from the moment they emerge from the pupal stage. Due to this heavy tempo, they only live for 3-4 weeks after they leave the hive and begin gathering food.

The chief cause of the death of workers is their never-ending search for food. As a result of this demanding activity, the foragers' brood food and wax glands soon degenerate. They also lose their hair after a total flight distance of about 800 kilometers (500 miles), and their flight muscles wear out.42 Worker bees usually die while on duty, outside the hive.

Foragers returning home with their pollen baskets full. This task of carrying pollen, which the workers perform during the final stages of their lives, is an exceedingly tiring one. Their bodies become damaged during the course of it, and they die shortly afterwards.

The new individuals that hatch out in the autumn will assume charge of maintaining the colony. Since the emergence of these bees coincides with the beginnings of winter, they are unable to leave the hive and must live off foodstuffs already stored by previous generations of workers.

Despite the short life spans of the bees that make up the colony, the colonies themselves are rather long-lived-so much so, in fact, that barring such circumstances as fire and drought, they are able to survive for 20 years or more.

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• 42. Mark L. Winston, The Biology of the Honey Bee, p.101.

 

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