a Richard Cryberg snips followed by > my comment... 
If you disagree please tell me what I am missing.

All worker bees are winter bees when they emerge from their cocoons.  Think about this for a minute.  Can it be any other way?  After all, as far as I can tell all worker larva are fed the same diet and incubated at the same temperatures.  That larva has no way to know if it is May or October.  It is even raised in near darkness so can not get a clue from hours of day light.  So, I conclude all larva are the same when they emerge.

>You are missing the variable that the content and quantity of pollen and nectar fed to larval bees varies throughout the year < composition of sugars and amino acid and crude protein content changes constantly.  As far as I know (and somewhat inline with the content of your later post) the life span of an individual bee is more about how much they fly than anything else but certainly the quality and quantity of larval food does make a difference in how robust and healthy an individual bee turns out to be.

>Whether ALL pre emerged bees are incubated at exactly the same temperature would be subject to question (especially if you have ever witnessed abandoned brood in the early spring/late winter).  If you rear (as I do) queen cells in non heat controlled space then you may witness that cool episodes also extend the time for a virgin queen to emerge from it's cell.

Gene in Central Texas... 

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