Question

In which of the following bees, wax glands are found?
A. Queen Bee
B. Drone
C. Workers
D. Both A and C

Answer 1

As the name suggests, bee wax is the wax that the bees secrete for making up the honeycombs. The honeybees of the Apis genus mainly produce this wax. The wax that is very fresh and newly produced is white in color and appearance. After certain manipulations that the bees make, the wax color changes and turns to pale yellow. A proper structure for bees is provided by this beeswax.

Complete answer:

Queen Bee- It is considered to be the mother of the hive. The other bees working will support the queen bee’s egg laying productivity. However, queen bees do not have abdominal wax glands.

Drone- It is the male honeybee. A remarkable thing to note is that they do not have the stingers and they cannot gather nectar or pollen. Drones also do not possess abdominal wax glands.

Workers- They are the care taking bees of the hive. These have the ability to secrete wax from their eight abdominal wax glands. These glands are capable of converting the sugar content of honey into wax. The wax glands have different sizes which depend upon how old or young the worker bee is. So, age is a factor responsible for wax sizes.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: The worker bees will chew the wax and mix it with their salivary secretions to know the right consistency and then only the wax is used for the construction of the honeycomb. The worker bees are also well-known to make royal jelly in order to feed the queen and young larvae. Worker bees are born sterile just because their main function is to serve the other bees and work their entire lifespan.