Egg and larva

The eggs of parasitic forms are often attached to a surface by means of a pedicel, or stalk. In some forms, the pedicel may be five or six times the length of the egg itself.

The larva typically has a distinct head region, three thoracic segments, and usually nine or 10 abdominal segments. In the suborder Symphyta, the larvae are usually caterpillar-like. The head covering is especially tough and the mouthparts powerfully developed. There are usually three pairs of legs on the thorax and six or eight on the abdomen. Symphyta larvae that are wood borers or stem borers have no abdominal legs and the thoracic legs are smaller than those of nonborers.

With rare exceptions larvae of the suborder Apocrita have no legs and are maggotlike in form. The head covering is softer and thinner than in the Symphyta. In parasitic forms, the head is often greatly reduced and partially withdrawn into the prothorax (anterior part of the thorax). Sense organs appear to be poorly developed, with no ocelli, very small or absent antennae, and toothlike, sicklelike, or spinelike mandibles. In most Apocrita larvae the stomach is a blind sac until the final larval stage, when it opens into the intestine. The larvae of stinging forms (Aculeata) generally have 10 pairs of spiracles, or breathing pores, whereas parasitic forms usually have nine pairs present.

Pupa

In the Apocrita, the final stage, the prepupa, begins to show certain adult features such as wings and adult legs. The prothoracic segment has begun to distend because of the growing head. The first abdominal segment, or propodium, becomes part of the thorax. The pupa is exarate, meaning that the developing adult appendages (legs and wings) are separate from the body rather than molded into its surface.

A cocoon is usually formed. It may be parchmentlike in texture, made of soil particles, or, in stinging forms, a thin, silken lining within the larval cell. Certain ants form no cocoon whatever.

Optical

It has been demonstrated that the eye of the bee is sensitive to ultraviolet radiation but is blind to red light. White flowers, which only partially reflect ultraviolet as a rule, appear colored to a bee. Certain color combinations, while invisible to the human eye, are not only visible but also may be of special interest to bees. In response to certain color combinations, they instinctively extend the proboscis (feeding organ) into the flower for nectar.

Some flowers that appear entirely yellow to the human eye reflect ultraviolet from the outer ends of the petals. Only the inner part, then, appears yellow to the bee, directing it to the nectar source.

The faceted compound eye of the insect is apparently unable to perceive forms in sharp outline, and it seems to be the patterns of flowers that attract bees rather than their geometric shapes. In addition, striking landmarks serve for orientation from the hive to the food source.

Chemical

Recognition of a member of the same species and colony and discovery of a mate and of the nest are largely determined by smell. Guards at the beehive entrance smell every bee who seeks to enter to determine if she belongs to the colony, because each colony has its own specific odor.

Ants use scent marks, which they place on their pathways. They are thus able to find their way back to the nest and direct other colony members to a food source. When danger threatens, ants, wasps, and bees secrete an alarm substance. This marks the place of danger and notifies other colony members to be on the alert.

During the nuptial flight of the bees, the queen announces her presence to the drones by releasing a substance from her mandibular gland. If this secretion is obtained experimentally and sent aloft by means of a balloon, a swarm of drones will gather around it. A queen bee constantly identifies herself in the hive by means of the so-called queen substance, which also originates from the mandibular gland. This secretion, passed by certain workers in minute portions to all hive mates, inhibits ovary development in workers. It is also perceived by smelling and controls certain types of behavior. As long as the odor is present in the hive, the bees are unable to produce new queen cells. If the queen disappears or is weak, this substance is no longer produced or is produced in reduced amounts. At that time substitute queens are immediately produced from young larvae. The sense of smell is also essential to many parasitic forms in their search for a host. Some parasites can detect, chemically, whether another parasite has already laid an egg in an intended host. If such is the case, no egg will be deposited by the second visitor.

Mechanical

Nest building and mutual communication are aided in numerous ways by mechanical means of orientation. Wasp and bee nests, which have horizontal and vertical combs, as well as ant nests are designed with respect to gravity. Highly developed gravity-sensing organs have been found in bees and ants. Hair tufts on the neck and in the leg joints sense the response of the various body parts to gravity. In this way the individual parts of the body assist the organs of balance, and the brain is informed of each change in position. In ants the hair tufts on the basal antennae segment also are used for the perception of gravity.