What two factors determine the "division of labor" within a honey bee colony?

The division of labor within a honey bee colony is primarily influenced by the age of the worker bee and the needs of the colony. As worker bees mature, they naturally take on different roles within the colony, ranging from nursing duties when they are younger to foraging for nectar and pollen as they age. This age-related task allocation ensures that the colony’s activities are carried out efficiently based on the lifecycle and development stages of the bees.

Additionally, the specific needs of the colony dictate how labor is divided. For instance, if the colony is experiencing a food shortage or if there are more brood cells to tend to, worker bees will adjust their tasks to meet these demands. This dynamic system allows the colony to respond effectively to internal factors like brood rearing and external factors such as the availability of resources.

In contrast, while factors such as the size of the colony, environment, or beekeeping practices do play a role in beekeeping overall, they do not fundamentally determine the division of labor in the context of how tasks are designated among individual bees. The primary drivers remain the age of the worker bees and the specific needs of the colony at any given time.