Some Effects of Nursing on Nurse Bees

Abstract
Summary Small colonies of honeybees (Apis mellifera) with different worker-larva ratios provided a range of nursing loads for workers. Large nursing loads appeared to be associated with greater losses in nursing ability as worker bees became older. When workers became old, they ate less food and reared less brood than young workers. Their survival at the end of nursing appeared to be little affected by the intensity of their nursing activity.