>Let’s start with the larva.  They are fed a combination of honey, pollen
and royal jelly

Actually, they do not need to be fed any pollen at all.  Pollen may simply
be a contaminant.  Also, not sure whether they are fed "honey" as such, or
rather nectar or diluted honey.


>This royal jelly is a mix of vitamins, minerals and proteins secreted from
the hypopharyngeal gland in the bees head and is obtained from flowers that
produce nectar and pollen.

Also from the mandibular glands.  Three main components to brood
food--secretions from both glands, plus nectar. The protein source does not
need to be pollen and nectar--can be cannibalized brood.

>The fact that a fertilized larva can turn into a queen is testament to
> what a good diet can do.
>

Actually, this may be backwards.  The default is a queen.  Only through
starvation are workers produced.

>
> > I don’t see how you can make fat bees with an exoskeleton.


"Fat" is a misnomer.  We are referring to bees with fully-developed fat
bodies.


> >I believe that during the late fall or early winter when the bees stop
> raising young bees, the glands in the bees head that produce the royal
> jelly continue to function, but rather than use the royal jelly to feed
> larva the royal jelly is absorbed by the bees allowing them to live longer.
>

There would be no reason for the glands to produce jelly then for the bee
to resorb it.  See my series of articles on the primer pheromones at my
website.

>
> >We would wear out working from sun up to sun down during the nectar flow.


I've done so (and then well after dark) for a long lifetime.  Starting to
notice the wear.



> > Another reason why bees live longer in the winter is because they are
> not doing much work.


The queen is the hardest working bee in the hive, yet also lives the
longest.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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