Which jobs are performed by worker bees in a honeybee colony?

In a honeybee colony, worker bees perform a variety of tasks that are organized primarily by age, a process known as the division of labor.1

As a worker bee matures, its responsibilities shift to match its physiological development:

• Early Life (Days 1–3): Newly emerged workers clean cells, carry out waste, and line cells with a disinfectant secretion to prepare them for the queen’s eggs.1
• Nursing (Days 4–15): The bee begins brood nursing, feeding older larvae with honey and pollen. By the sixth day, it also feeds younger larvae with specialized food produced by its pharyngeal glands.1
• Construction (Around Day 16): The bee secretes beeswax to build and repair the honeycomb.21
• Guard Duty (Around Day 20): The bee serves as an entrance guard to protect the hive.1
• Foraging: Finally, the bee becomes a forager, collecting nectar, pollen, water, and propolis until the end of its life.21

Throughout their lives, workers also regulate the hive's temperature by collecting water for air-conditioning or clustering to conserve heat.23