Honeybees (Apis mellifera) tending to brood cells in hive. Brood cells are used to house honeybee brood at various stages of development during brood raising season, and for storing pollen and nectar. Larvae can be seen in many of the open cells. Some adults can be seen reaching deep into the cells to feed the larvae. Some of the cells are capped with bees wax. These contain pupae, the stage in an insect's life cycle that precedes the adult stage. Honeybees undergo complete metamorphosis, a process which includes four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult, the latter emerging from a capped honeycomb cell.