For whom is royal jelly intended?
- Only for the queen during the days preceding capping.
- For adult workers when they become foragers.
- For adult drones during the mating period.
- For all larvae at the start, then for the queen larvae and the queen.
Show answer
Correct answer: 4.
For all larvae at the start, then for the queen larvae and the queen.
Why?
Royal jelly is a secretion produced by the nurse bees, in particular by means of their hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands.
It feeds all the young larvae during the first days of their development. Afterwards, the feeding diverges according to the destiny of the larva: worker, drone or queen.
The larvae destined to become queens receive a more abundant and prolonged royal diet. The adult queen, too, is fed with royal jelly throughout her life in the colony.
What to understand
Royal jelly is not only a “queen food”. It is also involved at the start of the development of all the larvae of the colony.
The difference therefore does not lie in whether or not royal jelly is received at the outset, but in the duration, the quantity and the composition of the food received afterwards.
This feeding plays a major role in the differentiation between worker and queen. It influences the bodily development, the reproductive organs and the laying potential of the future queen.
Key points
All larvae receive royal jelly at the start of their development.
The future queens receive it for longer and in greater quantity.
The adult queen is fed by the workers with royal jelly, but this is not stored like honey or pollen.
Further reading
► Royal jelly: one of the many factors in making a queen
► Nurse bees do not feed only the brood: brood food also circulates between adults