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worker bee
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Illustration showing three honeybees (Apis mellifera) side by side for size comparison: a small worker bee, a larger queen bee with an elongated abdomen, and a robust drone bee with a broader body.
The fascinating chemistry behind honey production
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worker bee

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Illustration showing three honeybees (Apis mellifera) side by side for size comparison: a small worker bee, a larger queen bee with an elongated abdomen, and a robust drone bee with a broader body.
Honeybee castes An illustration showing the three honeybee castes: queen, female workers, and male drones.

Worker bees are female insects that perform all the labor within a honeybee colony, except for laying eggs. These essential tasks include cleaning cells, nursing larvae, building honeycomb, guarding the hive entrance, and foraging for nectar and pollen. Worker bees typically12

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8 Britannica Sources
  1. beekeeping - Worker bees
  2. beekeeping - Honeybees
  3. Hymenoptera - Social forms
  4. worker cell
  5. beekeeping - Queen bee
  6. Hymenoptera - Size range and diversity of structure
  7. Hymenoptera - Division of labor
  8. beekeeping - Swarming

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