The Development of Ovaries in Worker Honeybees in a Queenright Colony

Abstract

The development of ovaries in marked worker bees 2 and 4 weeks old was observed in 8 queen- right colonies between April and October 1968. Workers 2 weeks old in non-swarming colonies had undeveloped or only slightly developed ovaries. The majority of workers 4 weeks old had undeveloped ovaries. The degree of ovary development showed similar fluctuations in samples from all colonies taken on the same day, but there were significant differences between samples taken at different stages in the active season. The greatest ovary development was found in colonies which had swarmed.