A larval honey bee hatches from an egg laid by the queen bee in a cell of the comb. The larva is fed mostly pollen and honey by adult nurse bees. After five growth stages, each separated by a shedding of the outer skin, the larva spins a cocoon, becomes a pupa (shown here), and then metamorphoses into a complete adult worker bee. The larva may be fed only royal jelly, a glandular secretion of worker bees. A larva fed only royal jelly will become a queen bee as an adult.