SummaryThe relative amounts of carbohydrate, lipid and protein were determined in whole bees over the course of their development in the sealed cell. Oxygen uptake, respiratory quotients, and changes in wet and dry weight were determined. Metabolism of sealed larvae, pupae and young pharate adults is based on the utilization of lipid stores, but in older pharate adults it also involves the consumption of some protein. Carbohydrate might be used primarily in the deposition of the adult cuticle prior to emergence.