Honeybee colonies typically have a single queen, the reproductive female who lays all the eggs and mothers the colony. This raises the question of whether a beehive can house more than one queen. While a single queen usually dominates, circumstances exist where a hive might temporarily, or rarely, contain multiple queens.
The Standard Single Queen Hive
Honeybee colonies typically maintain a single queen through social control. The queen produces chemical signals, called queen pheromones, which regulate the hive. Queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) is important; it inhibits worker bee ovary development, preventing them from laying eggs and ensuring the queen’s reproductive monopoly. These pheromones also influence worker behavior, promoting cohesion and tasks like foraging and brood care.
Worker bees distribute these pheromones throughout the hive via direct contact with the queen and trophallaxis (food sharing). This constant chemical communication reinforces the queen’s presence and suppresses worker attempts to rear new queens. Under normal conditions, if multiple queens were present, their competitive behavior, including direct combat, would typically result in only one surviving.
Circumstances Leading to Multiple Queens
While a single queen is normal for Apis mellifera (the common honeybee), several scenarios can result in a hive temporarily hosting multiple queens. One common occurrence is during swarming preparation, the colony’s natural reproductive process. As a colony prepares to divide, the old queen reduces egg-laying, and workers raise new queens in specialized queen cells. The original queen usually departs with a portion of worker bees, forming a swarm, before new queens emerge. However, a brief overlap can occur where both are present in the original hive.
Supersedure is another situation, where the colony replaces an old, failing, or injured queen. During supersedure, the colony raises a new queen while the old queen is still present and often laying eggs. This transition can involve a period where both mother and daughter queens coexist peacefully before the new queen fully takes over. Beekeeper intervention can also lead to multiple queens, such as introducing a new queen or in specialized “two-queen systems” designed to boost colony strength and honey production.
Unlike Apis mellifera, some less common bee species naturally exhibit pleometrosis, a social structure where multiple queens stably coexist within a single colony. For common honeybees, however, multiple queens are generally temporary.
Dynamics of Multiple Queen Hives
When multiple queens are present in a honeybee colony, their coexistence is usually temporary. Newly emerged virgin queens often engage in aggressive interactions, attempting to sting rivals until only one remains. This combat can involve queens grappling and delivering stings, often fatal to the recipient.
Queens may also produce distinct sounds, known as “piping,” “quacking,” or “tooting,” thought to be signals between rivals or an announcement of their presence. Piping is more common when multiple queens are in a hive and signals a queen’s readiness to fight for dominance. While workers might attempt to separate virgin queens during swarming to ensure more potential queens are available, Apis mellifera’s natural inclination is to resolve to a single queen.
Impact on Colony Health and Productivity
The presence of multiple queens, particularly in temporary situations like swarming or supersedure, can indicate a healthy, growing colony or a necessary change for survival. During supersedure, the brief overlap of old and new queens ensures continuity of egg-laying, beneficial for the colony’s population. However, for Apis mellifera, long-term multiple queen situations are generally not sustainable without specific beekeeping management.
Studies show that colonies intentionally managed with multiple queens, often through techniques like mandibular ablation to prevent fighting, exhibit increased brood production, honey yield, and pollen storage compared to single-queen colonies. For instance, research indicates colonies with four queens produced significantly more worker brood, honey, and pollen than single-queen colonies. While such systems require more intensive management, they lead to larger bee populations and higher productivity, offering potential commercial benefits for beekeepers.