What is the average life span of a honeybee?
There are 3 different kinds of honeybees found in a hive. The queen, who is responsible for laying eggs and colony morale, has an average life span of 2 – 3 years. Most queens however, live shorter spans of time due to the re-queening of hives by beekeepers. Drones are the male bees whose sole purpose is to mate with the queen. Drones are born throughout the active season of the hive so their life span depends on when they were born. If a drone successfully mates a queen, he will die in the act. If he is unsuccessful, and doesn’t die from old age, he will be evicted from the hive at the end of the season to die of starvation. Worker bees have an average life span of 4 – 5 weeks during the summer months when they are most active. Their life span depends on the amount of work done. She will actually work herself to death. In the fall and winter, workers will live for several months because they are less active.
