Which of the following are the three main castes in a honey bee colony?

The three main castes in a honey bee colony are the queen, worker, and drone, making the second choice the correct one.

The queen serves as the primary reproductive individual in the colony, laying thousands of eggs and producing pheromones that help maintain colony cohesion. Worker bees, which are sterile females, perform various roles throughout their lives including foraging for nectar and pollen, tending to the queen and brood, cleaning the hive, and defending the colony. Drones are the male bees whose sole purpose is to mate with a queen; they do not participate in the foraging or hive maintenance activities.

Understanding the roles of these castes is essential for managing a healthy bee colony and for recognizing the societal structure within it. The other options do not accurately represent the main castes in a honey bee colony, as they include terms that refer to less relevant roles or processes, such as swarm and nectar, or specific structures like queen cells which are involved in reproduction but do not constitute a caste themselves.