The queen bee holds a central role within a honey bee colony, serving as the sole reproductive female responsible for laying all the eggs. Her consistent egg-laying ensures the colony’s growth and perpetuation. Beyond reproduction, the queen also produces pheromones that regulate colony behavior and cohesion, helping to maintain social order and suppress worker bee reproduction.
When a New Queen is Needed
Honey bee colonies initiate the process of creating a new queen under several distinct circumstances. One common scenario is swarming, which is the natural way a colony reproduces itself. During swarming, the old queen departs with a significant portion of the worker bees to establish a new nest, leaving behind developing queen cells to ensure the continuation of the original colony.
Another situation prompting new queen development is supersedure, where the existing queen is aging, failing, or no longer performing optimally. In such cases, the worker bees will quietly begin raising a replacement queen. This allows for a smooth transition and ensures the colony maintains a strong reproductive leader.
Finally, an emergency queen is raised when the colony suddenly loses its queen due to an unexpected event. Worker bees quickly adapt existing young larvae into queen candidates to prevent the colony’s collapse.
The Specialized Rearing Process
The creation of a new queen bee begins when worker bees select a very young larva, typically less than three days old, from a regular worker cell. This chosen larva is then transferred into, or a regular cell is modified into, a specialized structure known as a queen cell. These queen cells are distinct from worker cells, being much larger, vertically oriented, and resembling a peanut shell in appearance.
The defining factor in a larva’s development into a queen is its diet. From the moment it is selected, the chosen larva is continuously fed a rich, creamy substance called royal jelly throughout its entire larval stage. This contrasts sharply with worker larvae, who receive royal jelly for only their first few days before transitioning to a diet of pollen and honey.
The abundant and exclusive royal jelly diet triggers a specific developmental pathway, causing the larva to grow significantly larger and develop fully functional reproductive organs. The larval stage for a queen lasts approximately 5.5 days, followed by a pupal stage of about 7.5 days, all within the sealed queen cell. During this pupal period, the larva undergoes metamorphosis, transforming into an an adult queen. The continuous provision of royal jelly is important, as it provides the necessary nutrients and hormonal signals that differentiate a queen from a worker bee, even though they originate from genetically identical eggs.
A New Queen’s Emergence and Role
After completing her development, the new queen bee emerges from her queen cell, typically about 16 days after the egg was laid. Upon emergence, her first task is to eliminate any potential rivals. She will seek out and sting to death other developing queen larvae or pupae still in their cells, or engage in fights with any other newly emerged virgin queens. This ensures her undisputed reign as the sole reproductive queen in the colony.
Once she has established her dominance, the virgin queen undertakes a series of mating flights. She flies out of the hive to designated drone congregation areas, where she mates with multiple drones from other colonies. During these flights, she collects enough sperm to last her entire reproductive lifetime. After successful mating, she returns to the hive and begins her duty of laying eggs, typically within a few days.
What Makes a Queen Different
The specialized rearing process, particularly the continuous royal jelly diet, results in the distinct physical and physiological characteristics of a queen bee. Queens are noticeably larger than worker bees, possessing a longer, more elongated abdomen that accommodates her fully developed ovaries. These ovaries allow her to lay up to 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day during peak seasons.
Unlike worker bees, queens do not have pollen baskets on their hind legs, as they do not forage for pollen. They also lack the specialized glands that produce wax or royal jelly. A queen’s lifespan is significantly longer than that of a worker bee, often living for three to five years, while worker bees typically live only a few weeks or months. These attributes enable her role as the reproductive center of the honey bee colony.