- Eggs: Bee eggs are always laid by the queen bee, the only one capable of reproducing, in special cells of the hive, intended to house the offspring, instead of honey. The eggs are white and flat, oval in shape, and hatch after about three days.

- Larvae: Fresh from the egg, the larvae rest in a "C" shape in their respective cells, waiting for the worker bees to bring them their food: a kind of honey-based jelly, made by the bees themselves. The larvae are white, elongated and have a segmented body, but without limbs and completely blind. They will be fed in this way until they reach the size necessary to become pupae or chrysalises.

- Chrysalises: When ready for metamorphosis, the larvae produce a characteristic smell that the workers recognise, and they proceed to seal each cell with wax, isolating the larva from the outside. Inside, hidden from the light, the larva begins a period of inactivity and changes that vary according to the final role that the individual will have in the hive: worker, drone or queen.

- Bees: Once they reach the adult or imago stage, bees emerge from their cells to join the complex social life that characterizes these insects.