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Insects and Spiders · entry 43 of 52
A worker bee performs different jobs as it grows older inside the hive.
The longer version
Age determines which tasks a worker performs, partly because its body changes over time. Younger adults have better-developed food glands and stay inside feeding larvae and cleaning cells, while older ones have stronger flight muscles suited to gathering outside.
Moving through jobs gradually lowers the spread of infection, since fewer individuals touch every stage. The order is flexible rather than fixed: heavy losses outside push younger bees to switch earlier, while a shortage of carers sends some older ones back to brood duty. This division keeps many tasks running at once. Hormones appear to coordinate each shift, tracking both the individual and what the colony needs.
Where this entry sits
This collection gathers small wonders from the world of ants, bees, butterflies, beetles, and spiders. Expect surprising details about swarms, silk, and metamorphosis, plus the strange everyday abilities of creatures small enough to fit on a fingertip. The full list sits on the Insects and Spiders page, where every entry is listed in order.
More From Insects and Spiders
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Read 47An insect's skeleton sits on the outside of its body rather than inside.
Read 48Some ants farm aphids, protecting them in return for a sweet liquid they produce.
Read 49Dragonflies hunt other insects in midair and rarely land while they feed.
Read 50A wasp nest is built from chewed wood fibres mixed with the insect's saliva.
Read 51Moths are drawn to light, though the reason is still debated among scientists.
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