Comparison of the size of eggs from Apis mellifera L queens and laying workers

Abstract - The shortest eggs laid by A m mellifera laying workers were shorter, and the longest were longer than eggs deposited by queens. The coefficient of variance for length of eggs deposited by laying workers was 3.5 times higher than for eggs from queens. Eggs from queens were longer (1.620 mm), but narrower (0.368 mm) than eggs from laying workers (1.579 and 0.378 mm). Correlation coefficient between length and width was significant for eggs from laying workers but not from queens. Both types of A mellifera eggs were longer than eggs from A florea queens, but shorter than from A florea laying workers.