When bees cluster, or beard, on the outside of a hive, it is usually because they are trying to cool off, but the hive may be crowded and they are preparing to swarm

Like the vast majority of bees in a hive, this worker bee is female. She will only live six weeks during which time she will perform many duties in the hive before becoming a forager.

The queen bee, which is larger than the worker bees, can lay approximately 1,500 eggs a day.  She is fed and cared for by special worker bees.

The orange blob on this bee’s leg is the pollen she has collected while visiting flowers. Pollen is the bee’s source of protein and they will not produce young without an ample supply.

Our beehives contain multiple frames upon which the bees build comb. They use the comb to store honey and pollen. The queen will also lay eggs in the comb. 

This is a magnified view of eggs the queen has laid in the comb. The eggs will develop into larvae, which evolve into pupae, and finally turn into new bees. The entire process takes three weeks for worker bees.

Look closely in the bottom of the cells and you can see the larvae which develop a few days after the eggs are laid. These will continue to grow when fed by the nurse bees.

After the larvae develop, the bees cover them with a layer of tan wax, resulting in capped brood. When born, the bee will chew her way free and emerge into the hive.