Vitellogenin
A storage protein that makes a winter bee live four times as long as a summer one.
Definition
Winter bees are reared in autumn with a large fat body and high vitellogenin levels, and live four to six months against a summer worker's five to six weeks — from genetically identical eggs in the same colony. Vitellogenin appears to protect against oxidative damage and supports the immune system, and it is one of the clearest natural demonstrations that ageing is malleable rather than fixed.
Where the word gets used loosely
This is why varroa damage kills colonies in February rather than October. Mites feeding on the fat body of developing winter bees compromise exactly the physiology those bees need to cross the winter, so a colony that looks strong in autumn can be dead by late winter.
See also
Other bees terms
Sources
Sources
- The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild — Princeton University Press (2019) · Monograph
- The Biology of the Honey Bee — Harvard University Press (1987) · Textbook
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