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Worker egg laying

honey bee worker laying egg

Honey bee worker during egg laying. See also queen egg laying.


Before egg laying the worker inspects a cell by inserting her head into it. Afterwards she backs into the cell until the end of her abdomen touches to the bottom of the cell. This requires inserting both abdomen and thorax into the cell. The wings remain outside the cell and are folded over her head. In this position the wings press on the rim of the cell and can be damaged as a result of this. The oviposition of worker takes between 30 and 45 seconds Reproduction by worker honeybees (Apis mellifera L),
Behav Ecol Sociobiol
, Volume 23, p.117-126, (1988)
[1].