WHAT IS A BEE COLONY?
Honey bees live together in a group called a colony. Depending on the season, a honey bee colony is made up of one queen, hundreds of male drones and between 20,000 to 80,000 female worker bees. Nurse and forager bees are both worker bees. Within the honey bee colony there may also be eggs, larvae and pupae.
Nurse 
Worker
THE WORKER BEES
Nurse bees are young bees. They clean the hive, cap the honey and nurture and feed the larvae. Additionally, they can secrete a substance called ‘Royal Jelly’ which is fed to the queen bee.
After 2-3 weeks, the nurse bees take on the role of foraging. A forager can fly for up to 6 miles at speeds of 15 miles per hour when going out to forage. When returning with pollen, nectar, propolis or water speeds of 12 miles an hour have been recorded.
Worker bees typically last 15-38 days in the summer compared to 150-200 days in the winter.
THE DRONE BEES
Drone bees do not sting. Their only function is to mate with the queen bee.
THE QUEEN BEE
The queen lays eggs and also produces a chemical scent which is essential in uniting the colony.