1. Worker beesdevelop from fertilized eggs and are infertile females. Their stingers are actually modified ovipositors.Drones develop from unfertilized eggs. They are the males required to fertilize the eggs the queen bee will lay.Queen beesdevelop from a fertilized egg, but are fed a special food called royal jelly. One mating provides enough sperm to fertilize all the eggs she will lay in her lifetime. She stores the sperm in a special organ called the spermatheca. Most queens will mate more than once. Mating with other drones provides genetic diversity for the hive, thus supporting the genetic health of the hive. A honeybee is born after the queen bee lays soft eggs in the comb of the hive. After three days in this state, the egg is then ready to hatch and become a larva. During this time, the other adult bees feed the larva bee bread (mixture of pollen, honey, and secretions from the brood bees) and it begins to enclose itself in a cocoon. During this time they are fed about 1300 times a day! This happens about day four. While the bee is in the cocoon, it develops into the pupa stage and begins to grow wings, eyes, and legs. The bee will continue to grow into an adult which happens about the 16th day. At this point, the bee breaks out of the cocoon and begins life as either a worker bee, a drone, or a queen bee.