Do Bees Lay Eggs? Everything You Never Knew You Needed to Know

Understanding Bee Reproduction Basics

Bees are fascinating little creatures—hardworking, buzzing around, and essential for our ecosystems. But wait a minute… do bees actually lay eggs? Short answer: yes. But the long answer? Way more interesting.

Let’s start with the queen. She’s not just sitting on a throne eating royal jelly (though she does get a special diet). She’s the only bee in the hive who lays eggs—thousands per day, in fact. Worker bees? Nope, they don't lay eggs—well, usually. And drones? They're the guys, so they definitely don’t.

The Queen Bee: Egg-Laying Powerhouse

What Makes the Queen So Special?

The queen bee is larger, lives longer (sometimes up to 5 years!), and is the mother of almost every bee in the hive. She mates just once, but stores enough sperm in her body to fertilize eggs for her whole life. Crazy, right?

She can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day during peak season. That’s more than her own body weight. And she does it all from the comfort of a dark little cell. Busy gal.

Fertilized vs. Unfertilized Eggs

Here's a cool twist:

• Fertilized eggs become female bees—either workers or, if fed royal jelly long enough, new queens.

• Unfertilized eggs? They develop into drones, the male bees.

It's like she’s choosing the bee’s gender on the fly (no pun intended). Wild, huh?

Do Worker Bees Lay Eggs?

The Strange Case of Worker Reproduction

Under normal hive conditions, worker bees don’t lay eggs. They're sterile due to the queen’s pheromones keeping them in check. But—ah yes, there's a but—if the queen dies or goes missing, some workers can start laying unfertilized eggs. These only turn into drones, which isn’t super helpful for the hive.

So technically, yes, workers can lay eggs, but only when things go off the rails. And the hive usually responds by… well, eating those eggs or killing the rogue worker. Nature can be kinda brutal.

What About Drones?

Drones are the male bees. They're bigger, have huge eyes (to spot queens during mating flights), and don't do much else. Do drones lay eggs?
Nope. Nada. Never.

They exist for one job only—mating. Once they do that (if they get the chance), they die. If they don’t mate, they get kicked out of the hive before winter. Rough life.

Life Cycle of a Bee: From Egg to Adult

So, What Happens After the Queen Lays an Egg?

Each egg is laid in a tiny wax cell. Three days later, it hatches into a larva. Workers then feed it a mix of pollen and nectar (called bee bread), unless it’s a future queen—then it gets royal jelly.

After about six days, the larva spins a cocoon and becomes a pupa. About 21 days after the egg is laid (give or take, depending on the type of bee), out comes a fully grown bee. Voilà!

Different Bees, Different Timelines

• Worker bees: ~21 days

• Queen bees: ~16 days (because royal jelly supercharges development)

• Drones: ~24 days

It’s all very organized. Bees don't mess around.

Wait, Do All Bees Lay Eggs?

Ah, good question. We’ve been talking about honey bees, mostly. What about solitary bees or bumblebees?

• Bumblebee queens lay eggs too, and workers can sometimes lay eggs late in the season.

• Solitary bees (like mason bees)? Every female is a queen in her own right and lays eggs in little holes or tunnels. No hive, no workers—just solo motherhood.

So yeah, in different species, the egg-laying rules shift a bit.

Final Buzz: Yup, Bees Lay Eggs

Okay, so to wrap this up—yes, bees do lay eggs, but not all of them. The queen bee does the heavy lifting (egg-laying-wise), workers might under special circumstances, and drones never do. Nature has a wild system worked out, and honestly? It’s kinda genius.

Also… isn’t it cool how much drama can happen in a beehive?

Buzz off now—but next time you see a bee, give a nod to the queen. She’s doing the most.

Is 165 cm normal for a 15 year old?

The predicted height for a female, based on your parents heights, is 155 to 165cm. Most 15 year old girls are nearly done growing. I was too. It's a very normal height for a girl.

Is 160 cm too tall for a 12 year old?

How Tall Should a 12 Year Old Be? We can only speak to national average heights here in North America, whereby, a 12 year old girl would be between 137 cm to 162 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/3 feet). A 12 year old boy should be between 137 cm to 160 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/4 feet).

How tall is a average 15 year old?

Average Height to Weight for Teenage Boys - 13 to 20 Years

How to get taller at 18?

Staying physically active is even more essential from childhood to grow and improve overall health. But taking it up even in adulthood can help you add a few inches to your height. Strength-building exercises, yoga, jumping rope, and biking all can help to increase your flexibility and grow a few inches taller.

Is 5.7 a good height for a 15 year old boy?

Generally speaking, the average height for 15 year olds girls is 62.9 inches (or 159.7 cm). On the other hand, teen boys at the age of 15 have a much higher average height, which is 67.0 inches (or 170.1 cm).

Can you grow between 16 and 18?

Most girls stop growing taller by age 14 or 15. However, after their early teenage growth spurt, boys continue gaining height at a gradual pace until around 18. Note that some kids will stop growing earlier and others may keep growing a year or two more.

Can you grow 1 cm after 17?

Even with a healthy diet, most people's height won't increase after age 18 to 20. The graph below shows the rate of growth from birth to age 20. As you can see, the growth lines fall to zero between ages 18 and 20 ( 7 , 8 ). The reason why your height stops increasing is your bones, specifically your growth plates.