The other day, one of several questions a bee removal customer in Scottsdale asked me, was how long do bees live. The short answer is not very long, but it depends on their role in the hive So, that got me thinking, okay, I can write an article about this very question, because likely many people would like the answer, but the answer deserves some context.

What Dictates Bee Lifespan?

All bees within a hive were not created equal. That is, each bee has a specific role or job. As mentioned earlier, each role determines how long they live.

Bee Roles

The Queen Bee

The queen bee has the longest lifespan within her hive. She can live up to five years, sometimes even longer with good care. Her main purpose? Laying eggs, up to 2,000 a day to grow the colony.

Without her, the hive falls apart. She mates once early on, then stores sperm for life. Beekeepers sometimes replace her after a couple years to keep things strong. If you search for the lifespan of a queen bee, you’ll see why she’s the heart of it all. How long does a queen bee lay eggs? She keeps at it until old age or workers kick her out.

Her longevity ensures fresh workers pop out yearly. Queens from Africanized hives might live shorter lives due to stress, but in calm setups, they can live up to five years as well. It’s her steady egg-laying that keeps the buzz going strong.

Drone Bees

Drones are the male bees in a hive whose primary purpose is to mate with a queen. As such, they only live for a few weeks or so, in summer. Once mating season is over, they are kicked out of the hive and die.

In a busy hive, drones make up about 10 to 15 percent of the population during warm months. Their fat bodies help them fly far for queens from other hives. Thus, no drones survive winter. This setup keeps the gene pool fresh each year.

Summer Worker Bees

Summer worker bees are all female and do most of the work within a hive. This includes fetching nectar, building wax, cleaning, feeding larvae, and protecting the hive. As such, they only live about 5 to 6 weeks during the summer months.

Winter Worker Bees

Winter worker bees live a little longer, usually up to 4 to 6 months. Their job is to keep the hive warm and protect it during the winter months.

Solitary Bees

Solitary bees are those who don’t live in a hive. Instead, they nest alone, finding refuge in holes or stems. Many finish their life cycle in one year, with adults emerging for weeks to mate and lay eggs.

Bumblebees

Bumblebees can live anywhere from a few weeks to a year, depending upon what their role (e.g. Queen, workers, drones) is.

For example, summer workers and drones last weeks, foraging and tending to the young. Only the new queen makes it through winter in a sleep-like state called diapause.

Once the queen awakens in spring, she starts a fresh nest, and lays her first batch. Her life spans a year, but the colony resets each time. Workers buzz for a month, then die off as fall hits. Bumblebee queens might live eight months in total.

If you would like to learn more about how long bees live, contact our expert bee removal team at the Beehive Bee and Wasp Removal today!