Honey bee larvae are fed by nurse bees. All young larvae get royal jelly for the first few days. After that, worker larvae switch to a mix of honey and bee bread (fermented pollen), while a larva chosen to become a queen keeps eating royal jelly the whole time. That difference in diet is what decides whether a female larva becomes a worker or a queen.
The Foods Larvae Eat
Royal jelly
Royal jelly is a milky secretion made in glands in the heads of young nurse bees. It is rich in protein, sugars and fats. All larvae get it for about the first three days of life. A queen larva is fed generous amounts of royal jelly until she is sealed in her cell.
Worker jelly and bee bread
After the first days, worker larvae get a mix of jelly, honey and pollen. Foragers bring pollen back to the hive, where it is packed into cells with a little nectar and honey. Microbes ferment it into bee bread, a protein-rich food that nurse bees eat and feed to larvae.
Honey and nectar
Honey, made from nectar, supplies carbohydrates that give larvae and nurse bees energy.
Why Diet Matters
Both queens and workers start as identical fertilized eggs. Royal jelly feeding triggers a different development path, producing a larger, longer-lived queen with fully developed ovaries. Workers eat the less rich diet and develop into smaller bees with undeveloped ovaries. Drones, which come from unfertilized eggs, are also fed by nurse bees.
Life Cycle in Brief
- The queen lays an egg in a wax cell.
- After about three days, the egg hatches into a tiny larva.
- Nurse bees feed the larva many times a day as it grows rapidly.
- Around day six, workers cap the cell with wax.
- The larva spins a cocoon and changes into a pupa, then an adult bee emerges.
A worker takes about 21 days from egg to adult, a queen about 16, and a drone about 24.
What About Other Bees?
Solitary bees do not have nurse bees. Instead, the mother packs each nest cell with a ball of pollen and nectar before laying an egg, and the larva eats that food alone. See what solitary bees eat and what leafcutter bees eat.
For Beekeepers
A colony that lacks pollen will cut back on brood rearing. If forage is short, a pollen substitute can help, as explained in our guide to dry bee feed. Plant a variety of flowers so bees can collect pollen from different sources.
Bottom Line
Bee larvae eat royal jelly, honey and bee bread, all prepared by nurse bees. The amount of royal jelly a larva gets decides its future as a worker or a queen.
