User:Arrowhead~enwiki/Apis mellifera life cycle

The Apis Mellifera (honeybee) goes through the larva and pupa stages as it emerges toward as an adult. A bee colony has 3 castes: queen, drones (male), and workers (sterile female). The worker bees feeds the larva. The pupa is preserved into the cell. Unfertilized eggs are developed into drones while fertilized eggs are developed into workers. If the larva is fed royal jelly, the fertilized egg can become a queen.

As hives become overpopulated by bees, the old queen can establish a new colony. The old colony can have a new queen. A new queen can mate with the drones. The drone injects millions of sperm which are stored in a pouch of her body. The drone dies while the queen returns to the hive where she will keep on laying eggs.