Bees are born from eggs laid by the queen in the cells of the honeycomb. After three days, the egg hatches into a larva that gradually grows until it wraps itself in a cocoon. Here it enters the next stage of nymph (or pupa), where it undergoes complex internal transformations that lead to the progressive formation of all the parts of the adult body. To exit the cell, the pupa (or nymph) gnaws the operculum, a sort of wax cap that seals it. The entire process lasts about 16 days for the birth of a queen, 21 for the worker bee and 24 for the drone.