> In comparable size to an egg, which is 1.2mm according to David Stone's Overview of Bee Biology. 

Here are some data:

The mean weight of different aged eggs was 0.133 mg
The length of 2475 eggs ranged between 1.196 mm and 1.846 mm

Newly hatched larvae weigh about 0.1 milligram, this may be taken as the average weight of eggs about to hatch, earlier stages being somewhat heavier. 

Newly hatched larvae are quite uniform in size and are flexed in an arc corresponding roughly to a semicircle having a diameter of about 1 millimeter or a total length of 1.6 mm. At the end of the first day the larva has attained a length of about 2.6 millimeters. 

At the close of the second day  the larva measures slightly less than 6 millimeters in length and is still surrounded by food.

Average cell width, European honey bee = 5.3 mm

Short-grain rice up to 5.5 mm; Medium-grain rice 5.51 to 6.6 mm

* A grain of rice probably wouldn't even fit in a worker cell, laying flat. *

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html