C-Shaped and Stretched Larva
Lexikon
The larva of the bee passes through two clearly distinguishable stages.
The larva of the bee passes through two clearly distinguishable stages. As a C-shaped larva it lies curled, almost ring-shaped, at the bottom of the cell and is fed by the nurse bees. During this phase it molts several times and gains weight very quickly.
Once the larva has reached its greatest weight, it stretches out lengthwise in the cell. This is the stretched larva. Shortly afterward the workers seal the cell with an air-permeable wax cap. The stretched larva spins a fine cocoon, stops moving and becomes a prepupa, marking the start of pupal rest.
The distinction is practically useful for the beekeeper. C-shaped larvae mean open brood and thus the possibility of emergency queen rearing if the queen is missing. Stretched larvae, on the other hand, are already too old for that. Anyone assessing the state of the brood nest can read from this how long the colony has already been queenless and whether a test frame is still worthwhile.