NCSBA Journeyman
Beekeeping Exam
Questions and Answers| Latest Update| Pass Guaranteed
1. What are the three castes found in a honey bee colony?
A. Queen, drone, and forager
B. Queen, worker, and drone
C. Queen, nurse bee, and guard bee
D. Worker, drone, and scout
Answer: B. Queen, worker, and drone
Rationale: A honey bee colony consists of three castes: a single (typically)
queen who is the reproductive female, sterile female workers who perform
nearly all colony tasks, and male drones whose primary role is mating with
virgin queens.
2. How many days does it typically take for a queen bee to develop from egg to
emergence?
A. 10 days
B. 13-16 days (about 16 days)
C. 21 days
D. 24 days
Answer: B. 13-16 days (about 16 days)
Rationale: A queen develops fastest of the three castes, emerging
approximately 16 days after the egg is laid, compared to about 21 days for a
, worker and about 24 days for a drone, due to differences in diet (royal jelly)
and cell size/orientation.
3. How many days does it typically take for a worker bee to develop from egg to
emergence?
A. 16 days
B. 18 days
C. 21 days
D. 28 days
Answer: C. 21 days
Rationale: Worker bees typically emerge about 21 days after the egg is laid,
progressing through egg, larval, and pupal stages within their wax cell before
chewing their way out as adults.
4. How many days does it typically take for a drone to develop from egg to
emergence?
A. 16 days
B. 21 days
C. 24 days
D. 30 days
Answer: C. 24 days
Rationale: Drones take the longest to develop of the three castes, emerging
approximately 24 days after the egg is laid, and they are reared in larger cells
than workers.
5. What determines whether a fertilized honey bee egg develops into a queen
or a worker?
A. The genetics of the drone that mated with the queen
B. The amount and duration of royal jelly fed to the larva, along with cell
type/size
C. The time of year the egg is laid
D. The age of the queen that laid the egg
, Answer: B. The amount and duration of royal jelly fed to the larva, along
with cell type/size
Rationale: Both queens and workers develop from fertilized (diploid) eggs; the
key difference is diet—larvae destined to become queens are fed royal jelly
exclusively throughout larval development and are reared in larger queen cells,
which triggers different developmental and reproductive pathways.
6. Are drones produced from fertilized or unfertilized eggs?
A. Fertilized eggs only
B. Unfertilized eggs (they are haploid)
C. Either fertilized or unfertilized eggs equally
D. Neither; drones develop from worker larvae
Answer: B. Unfertilized eggs (they are haploid)
Rationale: Drones develop from unfertilized, haploid eggs through a
reproductive process called arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, meaning they
have only one set of chromosomes (from the queen) and no father in the
genetic sense.
7. What are the three main body regions (tagmata) of an adult honey bee?
A. Head, thorax, and abdomen
B. Head, wings, and legs
C. Thorax, legs, and stinger
D. Abdomen, wax glands, and legs
Answer: A. Head, thorax, and abdomen
Rationale: Like all insects, the honey bee's body is divided into three main
segments: the head (sensory organs and mouthparts), the thorax (locomotion
structures—legs and wings), and the abdomen (housing digestive, reproductive,
and wax-producing organs).
8. Where are the wax glands located on a worker honey bee?
A. On the head
B. On the underside (ventral surface) of the abdomen
C. On the thorax between the wings
, D. On the legs
Answer: B. On the underside (ventral surface) of the abdomen
Rationale: Worker bees have four pairs of wax glands located on the ventral
(underside) segments of the abdomen; wax is secreted as small flakes (scales)
that the bee then chews and shapes into comb.
9. What is the function of the corbicula (pollen basket) on a worker bee?
A. To produce royal jelly
B. To carry pollen and propolis back to the hive on the hind legs
C. To sting predators
D. To sense odors
Answer: B. To carry pollen and propolis back to the hive on the hind legs
Rationale: The corbicula is a smooth, concave surface fringed with hairs
located on the outer side of the hind tibia, used by foraging workers to pack
and transport pollen (and sometimes propolis) back to the colony.
10. What is the function of the hypopharyngeal glands in worker bees?
A. Venom production
B. Producing royal jelly (and enzymes for honey production) in young workers
C. Wax production
D. Detecting pheromones
Answer: B. Producing royal jelly (and enzymes for honey production) in
young workers
Rationale: The hypopharyngeal glands, located in the head, are well-developed
in young nurse bees and primarily secrete royal jelly to feed larvae and the
queen; in older foraging bees, these glands shift to producing enzymes involved
in converting nectar to honey.
11. What is the primary function of the Nasonov gland?
A. Producing venom
B. Releasing an orientation/aggregation pheromone that helps guide bees to
the hive entrance or a swarm location
C. Regulating hive temperature
Beekeeping Exam
Questions and Answers| Latest Update| Pass Guaranteed
1. What are the three castes found in a honey bee colony?
A. Queen, drone, and forager
B. Queen, worker, and drone
C. Queen, nurse bee, and guard bee
D. Worker, drone, and scout
Answer: B. Queen, worker, and drone
Rationale: A honey bee colony consists of three castes: a single (typically)
queen who is the reproductive female, sterile female workers who perform
nearly all colony tasks, and male drones whose primary role is mating with
virgin queens.
2. How many days does it typically take for a queen bee to develop from egg to
emergence?
A. 10 days
B. 13-16 days (about 16 days)
C. 21 days
D. 24 days
Answer: B. 13-16 days (about 16 days)
Rationale: A queen develops fastest of the three castes, emerging
approximately 16 days after the egg is laid, compared to about 21 days for a
, worker and about 24 days for a drone, due to differences in diet (royal jelly)
and cell size/orientation.
3. How many days does it typically take for a worker bee to develop from egg to
emergence?
A. 16 days
B. 18 days
C. 21 days
D. 28 days
Answer: C. 21 days
Rationale: Worker bees typically emerge about 21 days after the egg is laid,
progressing through egg, larval, and pupal stages within their wax cell before
chewing their way out as adults.
4. How many days does it typically take for a drone to develop from egg to
emergence?
A. 16 days
B. 21 days
C. 24 days
D. 30 days
Answer: C. 24 days
Rationale: Drones take the longest to develop of the three castes, emerging
approximately 24 days after the egg is laid, and they are reared in larger cells
than workers.
5. What determines whether a fertilized honey bee egg develops into a queen
or a worker?
A. The genetics of the drone that mated with the queen
B. The amount and duration of royal jelly fed to the larva, along with cell
type/size
C. The time of year the egg is laid
D. The age of the queen that laid the egg
, Answer: B. The amount and duration of royal jelly fed to the larva, along
with cell type/size
Rationale: Both queens and workers develop from fertilized (diploid) eggs; the
key difference is diet—larvae destined to become queens are fed royal jelly
exclusively throughout larval development and are reared in larger queen cells,
which triggers different developmental and reproductive pathways.
6. Are drones produced from fertilized or unfertilized eggs?
A. Fertilized eggs only
B. Unfertilized eggs (they are haploid)
C. Either fertilized or unfertilized eggs equally
D. Neither; drones develop from worker larvae
Answer: B. Unfertilized eggs (they are haploid)
Rationale: Drones develop from unfertilized, haploid eggs through a
reproductive process called arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, meaning they
have only one set of chromosomes (from the queen) and no father in the
genetic sense.
7. What are the three main body regions (tagmata) of an adult honey bee?
A. Head, thorax, and abdomen
B. Head, wings, and legs
C. Thorax, legs, and stinger
D. Abdomen, wax glands, and legs
Answer: A. Head, thorax, and abdomen
Rationale: Like all insects, the honey bee's body is divided into three main
segments: the head (sensory organs and mouthparts), the thorax (locomotion
structures—legs and wings), and the abdomen (housing digestive, reproductive,
and wax-producing organs).
8. Where are the wax glands located on a worker honey bee?
A. On the head
B. On the underside (ventral surface) of the abdomen
C. On the thorax between the wings
, D. On the legs
Answer: B. On the underside (ventral surface) of the abdomen
Rationale: Worker bees have four pairs of wax glands located on the ventral
(underside) segments of the abdomen; wax is secreted as small flakes (scales)
that the bee then chews and shapes into comb.
9. What is the function of the corbicula (pollen basket) on a worker bee?
A. To produce royal jelly
B. To carry pollen and propolis back to the hive on the hind legs
C. To sting predators
D. To sense odors
Answer: B. To carry pollen and propolis back to the hive on the hind legs
Rationale: The corbicula is a smooth, concave surface fringed with hairs
located on the outer side of the hind tibia, used by foraging workers to pack
and transport pollen (and sometimes propolis) back to the colony.
10. What is the function of the hypopharyngeal glands in worker bees?
A. Venom production
B. Producing royal jelly (and enzymes for honey production) in young workers
C. Wax production
D. Detecting pheromones
Answer: B. Producing royal jelly (and enzymes for honey production) in
young workers
Rationale: The hypopharyngeal glands, located in the head, are well-developed
in young nurse bees and primarily secrete royal jelly to feed larvae and the
queen; in older foraging bees, these glands shift to producing enzymes involved
in converting nectar to honey.
11. What is the primary function of the Nasonov gland?
A. Producing venom
B. Releasing an orientation/aggregation pheromone that helps guide bees to
the hive entrance or a swarm location
C. Regulating hive temperature
