Honey bee colonies are intricate societies, with the queen bee serving as their central figure. Understanding her unique look helps in identifying her amidst the thousands of other bees in a colony.
Key Physical Traits
The queen bee is noticeably larger than other bees in the colony, often double the size of a worker bee. Her abdomen is a particularly distinguishing feature, being long and tapered, giving her an elongated, cigar-shaped appearance compared to the rounder abdomens of worker bees. This extended abdomen is designed for her primary role of egg-laying.
Her wings appear relatively small for her body size, covering only about two-thirds or halfway down her elongated abdomen. In contrast, worker bees’ wings extend the entire length of their bodies. A queen bee’s coloration can vary significantly, ranging from light gold to completely black, and she may have uniform coloring or even stripes. Some queen breeds feature long, golden legs, often noticeably longer than those of other bees and may lack the fuzziness seen on workers and drones.
Observable Behaviors
The queen bee’s behavior and colony interactions offer visual cues for identification. She moves deliberately and more slowly across the comb. A clear sign of her presence is the “retinue” of worker bees that constantly surrounds her. These attendant bees face the queen in a loose circle, feeding her, grooming her, and removing her waste.
The retinue’s behavior, including antennal and mouthpart contact with the queen, helps distribute queen pheromones throughout the hive, which are signals for colony cohesion and activity. The queen is most frequently found in the brood area of the hive, where she lays eggs in the honeycomb cells. She can lay up to 1,500 eggs daily.
How She Differs From Other Bees
Distinguishing the queen bee from worker bees and drones involves observing comparative features. The queen is the largest bee in the hive, followed by the drone, and then the smaller worker bee. Her abdomen is distinctly long and pointed, while worker bees have a more rounded abdomen, and drones possess a blunt, barrel-shaped abdomen.
Worker bees have pollen baskets (corbiculae) on their hind legs for collecting pollen, a feature absent in queens and drones. The queen’s stinger is smooth and curved, allowing her to sting multiple times, primarily against rival queens. Conversely, worker bees have barbed stingers, which typically result in their death after a single sting used for hive defense. Drones, being male bees, do not possess a stinger at all.