Stages: egg → larva → pupa → adult (complete metamorphosis). Worker: egg 3 d, larva 6 d, capped 12 d — emerges day 21. Queen: day 16. Drone: day 24 (Ellis 2015; FAO). Food: royal jelly first; only queens get it throughout.
Bee life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, adult
The bee life cycle has four stages — egg, larva, pupa and adult — and every bee goes through all four. Biologists call this complete metamorphosis, the same pattern butterflies, beetles and flies follow: a soft, legless grub that does nothing but eat, a resting stage in which the body is rebuilt, and finally a winged adult that looks nothing like the grub it came from.
In a honey bee colony the whole sequence happens inside a single six-sided wax cell. A worker spends 3 days as an egg, 6 as a larva and 12 sealed under a wax capping, then chews her way out on day 21 (Ellis 2015; FAO). A queen does it faster, in 16 days; a drone, the male, takes about 24. The explorer above draws that timeline for the caste you pick, and the printable chart puts all three castes on one page.
Four things are worth knowing before you look at the stages one by one:
- Development is fixed; adult life isn't. The days from egg to adult barely change, but adult life ranges from 15–38 days for a summer worker to 1–2 years for a queen (Remolina & Hughes 2008).
- Food decides caste. A fertilized egg can become a worker or a queen; what it is fed as a larva makes the difference (FAO).
- Males come from unfertilized eggs. The queen lays unfertilized eggs in the larger drone cells, and those become drones (FAO).
- Most of the time is hidden. More than half of a worker's development happens under a wax capping, where you can't see it (Traynor 2018).
The bee cycle in four stages
Put simply, the bee cycle runs like this: the queen lays an egg; the egg hatches into a larva; the larva is sealed in and becomes a pupa; the pupa becomes an adult; and adult workers feed the next larvae while the queen lays more eggs. That loop is the cycle of a bee colony — thousands of overlapping cycles running at once, so that a healthy hive holds about 5,000 eggs and 25,000–30,000 developing young at any moment (FAO).
Cycle bee basics for a quick answer
If you only need the cycle bee facts: egg about 3 days, larva about 5–7 days, pupa about 8–14 days, adult for weeks (workers and drones) or years (the queen). The table below gives the exact figures for each caste.
Bee life stages explained
Each of the bee life stages has its own job. Here's what happens in each one, using the honey bee — the best-studied bee — as the example.
1. Egg
A honey bee egg is a tiny white sliver about the shape of a very thin grain of rice, glued by one end to the bottom of a cell (Traynor 2018). It "stands erect for about 24 hours, then slowly tips over" (Traynor 2018), which is how beekeepers judge whether eggs are fresh. All honey bee eggs hatch after about three days, whatever the caste (Ellis 2015). A healthy queen lays only one egg per cell; several eggs in one cell, stuck to the walls, usually means workers are laying instead (Traynor 2018).
2. Larva
The larva is a white, legless grub that floats in a pool of brood food at the bottom of its cell. It does nothing but eat: nurse bees visit and feed it "over 100x per day" (Traynor 2018), and it sheds its skin five times as it grows — five larval instars (Traynor 2018). Every larva gets royal jelly for its first three days. After that, worker and drone larvae switch to a mix of honey and pollen, while a larva chosen to be a queen gets royal jelly for her whole larval life (FAO). When the larva is fat enough to fill the cell, the workers cap it with wax.
3. Sealed in: the transformation stage
Under the capping, the larva stretches out, spins a silk cocoon and changes into a pupa (Traynor 2018). From the outside nothing seems to happen, but inside the body is being rebuilt from a grub into a bee with a head, thorax, abdomen, legs, wings and eyes. This is the longest stage for workers and drones: about 12 days for a worker and 14 for a drone.
4. Adult
When it's ready, the new bee cuts through the wax capping with its mouthparts and climbs out (Traynor 2018). A worker begins cleaning cells almost straight away; her jobs then change with age — nursing, building comb, guarding and finally foraging (deJong 2024). The worker bee job timeline follows that adult life day by day.
Bee stages: how to tell them apart
The bee stages look very different, so you can usually name one at a glance. An egg is a white sliver standing or lying on the cell floor. A young larva is a small white C in a puddle of milky food; an older larva is a fat, glistening grub curled around the cell. A pupa is hidden under a capping; if a cell is opened you'll see a pale, soft bee shape with its legs folded against its body. The adult is the bee everyone recognises.
How long does it take a bee to grow?
From egg to adult a honey bee worker takes 21 days, a queen 16 and a drone about 24 (Ellis 2015). Other bees take longer: a bumble bee egg hatches after 4–6 days, the larva feeds for 2–3 weeks and the pupa needs about two more (Bumblebee Conservation Trust), a carpenter bee takes about seven weeks (Ohio State), and a mason bee develops slowly through the summer and waits in its cocoon until the next spring (Bosch & Kemp 2001).
Honey bee life cycle: worker, drone and queen
The honey bee life cycle follows the same four stages for every member of the colony, but the timing differs by caste. These are the day counts used by every bee page on this site:
| Caste | Egg | Larva | Pupa (capped) | Adult emerges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worker | 3 d | 6 d | 12 d | day 21 |
| Drone | 3 d | 7 d | 14 d | day 24 |
| Queen | 3 d | 5 d | 8 d | day 16 |
Larval food: every larva gets royal jelly for its first three days; worker and drone larvae then get honey and pollen, while queen larvae get royal jelly throughout. Sources: Ellis 2015 (UF/IFAS) and FAO Bulletin 68 for the day counts and food. For each caste's adult life, see worker bees, queen bees and drone bees.
Honey bee life stages by caste
Comparing the honey bee life stages side by side shows why the castes differ:
- Worker: a fertilized egg in a small worker cell. Larval life lasts 6 days, and she spends 12 days capped. Adult life: 15–38 days in summer, 150–200 days for winter bees (Remolina & Hughes 2008).
- Drone: an unfertilized egg in a larger drone cell, with a domed, bullet-shaped capping (Traynor 2018). He has the longest development — 7 days as a larva and 14 capped — and lives about 21–45 days as an adult in spring and summer (Schaumann et al. 2024).
- Queen: a fertilized egg in a large queen cell, fed royal jelly throughout. She develops fastest — 5 days as a larva, 8 capped — and can live for years (Remolina & Hughes 2008; UF/IFAS).
The cycle of a honey bee from egg to forager
Following one worker through the cycle of a honey bee gives a sense of scale. Her egg is laid on day 0 and hatches on day 3. Nurse bees cap her cell on day 9. She emerges on day 21, cleans cells first, nurses larvae at about 4–12 days old and builds comb at 12–17 days, and starts foraging around three weeks after emerging (deJong 2024) — so a summer worker is about six weeks past her egg date before she first collects nectar.
Honey bee life after the cell
Honey bee life outside the cell is short for most bees. Once a worker becomes a forager she lives about seven more days on average (Dukas 2008, via deJong 2024). Bees raised in autumn are the exception: they become winter bees and can live for months (Otis 2023). The honey life cycle — as the question is sometimes typed — is therefore a few weeks of development followed by an adult life whose length depends mostly on the season.
Bee metamorphosis: what happens inside the cell
Bee metamorphosis is the change from grub to bee. It happens in two hidden steps under the capping. First the full-grown larva stops eating, stretches out on its back and spins a cocoon of silk inside the cell (Traynor 2018) — beekeepers call this short pre-pupal phase part of the capped brood. Then it moults into a pupa, whose legs, wings and antennae are already visible, pale and soft.
Over the following days the pupa is rebuilt into a complete bee. "This is the hidden stage of bee development," Traynor (2018) writes; for a worker it "takes approximately 12 days to complete", during which the bee "metamorphoses, changing its entire body plan from a white grub into the segmented worker bee with a head, thorax, and abdomen."
Two practical points follow from metamorphosis:
- Warmth matters. Developing bees need a steady temperature; the colony keeps the brood nest at about 33–36 °C (Seeley 1985, via deJong 2024), and the winter cluster's centre is held near 95 °F (35 °C) while there is brood (UF/IFAS).
- The cocoon stays behind. Each bee leaves its cocoon lining in the cell, so brood comb darkens with use — Traynor (2018) notes that cappings "will be darker on older brood comb".
Egg, larva, pupa, adult bee in other bee families
Solitary bees go through the same egg, larva, pupa and adult stages, but nobody feeds the larva day by day. A mason bee or carpenter bee mother packs each cell with a ball of pollen and nectar, lays one egg on it and seals it; the larva eats the whole store, pupates and becomes an adult on its own (Bosch & Kemp 2001; Ohio State). Bumble bees sit in between: the queen and then her workers feed the larvae in a wax nest (Bumblebee Conservation Trust). See the bumble bee life cycle for how a bumble bee colony grows month by month.
The beehive life cycle through the year
A colony has its own yearly rhythm on top of the life cycles of its bees. This beehive life cycle is driven by the queen's egg laying, which follows the seasons:
| Months | Colony stage | What the queen and brood are doing |
|---|---|---|
| Dec–Feb | Winter cluster | eggs few or none in cold climates; winter bees keep the queen warm |
| Mar–Apr | Spring build-up | the queen lays again; new workers replace the winter bees |
| May–Jun | Peak and swarm season | most eggs of the year; drones raised; queen cells for swarming |
| Jul–Aug | Summer strength | a large, steady brood nest |
| Sep–Oct | Raising winter bees | less brood; the last bees raised become long-lived winter bees |
Sources: Otis 2023; UF/IFAS; Mississippi State and UGA Extension. Southern Hemisphere: shift by six months.
Beehive cycle and colony lifespan
Because new bees keep replacing old ones, the beehive cycle can repeat for years with the same nest, even though no individual worker lives through more than one season. How long a hive or nest actually survives is covered on the bee hive lifespan page.
Printable bee life cycle chart
Switch the tool to Printable chart and press Print chart for a one-page bee life cycle printable: the four stages as a cycle, each with a simple drawing, and the day counts for workers, drones and queens. It's sized to fit on one A4 or US Letter page, and the site's menu, adverts and buttons are left off the printout. Here is the same chart:
Bee life cycle diagram: what a good one shows
A useful bee life cycle diagram shows the four stages in order with arrows that loop back to the egg (because adults produce the next generation), a recognisable picture of each stage, and real timings rather than vague words like "a few days". For honey bees it should also show that the three castes take different times — 16, 21 and about 24 days — because that's the detail most simple diagrams leave out.
Bee life cycle for kids: a simple version
For a bee life cycle for kids, four sentences are enough: The queen bee lays a tiny egg in a wax cell. A baby bee called a larva hatches and is fed by nurse bees. The bees close the cell with wax, and inside, the larva turns into a pupa. About three weeks after the egg was laid, a grown-up bee chews its way out. The printable chart works well alongside it: children can colour the drawings and copy the numbers for the caste they choose.
Stages of a bee: a quick checklist for teachers
- Name the four stages of a bee in order: egg, larva, pupa, adult.
- Say which stage eats (the larva) and which stage changes its body completely (the pupa).
- Explain why a queen and a worker can hatch from the same kind of egg (royal jelly).
- Compare one number: a worker takes 21 days from egg to adult, a queen 16.
How this tool works
- Explorer: pick worker, drone or queen. The timeline uses the egg, larva and capped stages from the shared honey bee data — hatching on day 3 for every caste, capping on day 8 (queen), 9 (worker) or 10 (drone), and emergence on day 16, 21 or 24 (Ellis 2015; FAO). The bars are drawn to scale.
- Adult life: shown from the same data as the honey bee lifespan calculator — 15–38 days for summer workers, 1–2 years for queens and 21–45 days for spring and summer drones.
- Printable chart: an original drawing built from those same numbers, so the chart, this page, the worker bee and queen bee pages and the honey bee brood calculator always agree.
- Pupa: in the timeline, "pupa" covers the whole capped period, including the short pre-pupal phase when the larva spins its cocoon.
Development times are typical for colonies at normal brood-nest temperature. Cool brood develops more slowly, so treat the figures as the usual timing rather than a fixed schedule. For beekeeper-level dates — hatch, capping and emergence from a date or from what you see on a frame — use the brood calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the bee life cycle?
Four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult (complete metamorphosis). A honey bee worker takes 21 days from egg to adult, a queen 16 and a drone about 24 (Ellis 2015).
What are the bee life stages in order?
Egg, larva, pupa, adult. The egg hatches into a larva that is fed and grows, the larva is capped and becomes a pupa, and the pupa turns into an adult bee.
How long is each stage of the honey bee life cycle?
For a worker: egg 3 days, larva 6 days, pupa (capped) 12 days. Queens and drones differ — see the table above (Ellis 2015; FAO).
How long does it take a bee to grow from egg to adult?
A honey bee queen needs 16 days, a worker 21 and a drone about 24 (Ellis 2015). Bumble, carpenter and mason bees take weeks to months.
What is bee metamorphosis?
The change from a legless larva to an adult bee. It happens inside the capped cell: the larva spins a cocoon, becomes a pupa and is rebuilt into a bee (Traynor 2018).
What do bee larvae eat?
All larvae get royal jelly for three days; worker and drone larvae then get honey and pollen, while queen larvae get royal jelly throughout (FAO).
Why does a queen develop faster than a worker?
She is fed royal jelly for her whole larval life and is capped earlier, on day 8; she emerges on day 16 (FAO; Ellis 2015).
Do all bees have the same life cycle?
All bees go through egg, larva, pupa and adult, but the timing and care differ: solitary bees leave a food store and seal the cell, while honey bees and bumble bees feed their larvae.
What does a bee egg look like?
A tiny, thin white egg glued to the bottom of the cell. It stands upright for about a day, then tips over before it hatches (Traynor 2018).
How many larval stages does a bee have?
Five. The larva moults five times — five larval instars — growing after each moult (Traynor 2018).
Is there a bee life cycle printable?
Yes. Switch the tool to Printable chart and press Print chart for a one-page chart with drawings and day counts for workers, drones and queens.
What is the beehive life cycle?
The colony's yearly rhythm: a winter cluster, spring build-up, a peak with swarming in late spring, a strong summer, then winter bees raised in autumn (Otis 2023; UF/IFAS).
How long do honey bees live after they emerge?
Summer workers 15–38 days, winter workers 150–200 days, queens 1–2 years on average (Remolina & Hughes 2008).
How do I explain the bee life cycle to kids?
The queen lays an egg; a larva hatches and is fed; the cell is closed and the larva becomes a pupa; about three weeks later a bee chews its way out.
For education. Bees are pollinators — never spray a swarm or a colony. For a swarm or bees in a wall, contact a local beekeeper, a certified bee-removal specialist or your Extension office (UGA Extension; Mississippi State). Follow your local apiculture or Extension guidance on varroa and colony care. If a sting causes trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat or faintness, call emergency services.