A Weighty Matter in the Hive

Think what it would be like if you increased your weight by 1000 times in six days.

But that's exactly what worker bee larvae do in the honey bee colony. "They increase in weight 1000 times during the six days that they feed," said Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty.

"Worker bees," Mussen said, "will deposit food in their cells 10,000 times during those six days."

In peak season, the queen bee can lay up to 2000 eggs a day. No wonder she's called an "egg-laying machine."

From egg to larva to pupa to adult, that's the cycle of the honey bee.