The queen bee is the central figure within a honey bee colony. She is the sole reproductive female, responsible for laying nearly all the eggs that give rise to the hive’s population. Her presence and productivity directly influence the colony’s health, size, and overall activity. Her ability to lay eggs ensures the continuous cycle of new bees and the perpetuation of the colony.
Royal Jelly and Queen Development
All female honey bee larvae have the potential to develop into either a queen or a worker bee. Their development is determined by their diet during the larval stage. While worker bee larvae receive pollen, nectar, and a limited amount of royal jelly, a select few are chosen to become queens.
These chosen larvae are fed an exclusive and abundant diet of royal jelly throughout their entire developmental period. Royal jelly is a creamy, protein-rich substance secreted from glands in the heads of young worker bees. This specialized nutrition triggers rapid growth and full reproductive development characteristic of a queen bee. The continuous feeding of royal jelly allows the queen larva to develop much faster and significantly larger than worker larvae, resulting in her fully developed ovaries.
The Queen Cell and Emergence
As the chosen larva grows, worker bees construct a specialized structure around her, known as a queen cell. These cells are distinct from regular hexagonal brood cells, appearing much larger, typically around 1 to 1.5 inches long, and are often described as resembling a peanut or an elongated cocoon. Queen cells are usually positioned vertically, often hanging from the edges or faces of the comb, providing ample space for the developing queen.
Within this protective cell, the larva pupates, transforming into an adult queen. This developmental process from egg to adult queen takes approximately 16 days. Once fully mature, the new queen emerges from her cell by chewing through the beeswax cap with her mandibles. Upon emergence, a newly hatched queen often seeks out and eliminates any rival queens, ensuring her sole reign over the hive.
Hive Succession and New Queens
New queens are raised within a colony primarily through two natural processes: swarming and supersedure. Swarming is a reproductive act for the colony, where the old queen leaves the hive with a significant portion of the worker bees to establish a new home. Before their departure, the remaining bees in the original hive raise new queens from queen cells, ensuring the continuity of the parent colony. This typically occurs when a hive becomes overcrowded.
Supersedure, by contrast, is the colony’s method of replacing an existing queen who is aging, ailing, or performing poorly. In this scenario, the colony initiates the rearing of one or a few new queens while the old queen may still be present. This process ensures that the colony maintains a strong, productive queen without a significant interruption in egg-laying. These replacement queen cells are often built on the face of the comb rather than at the edges.