Virgin queen bee Metamorphosis of the queen beeĪ virgin queen is a queen bee that has not mated with a drone. Often the cap swings open when most of the cut is made, so as to appear like a hinged lid.ĭuring swarming season, the old queen is likely to leave with the prime swarm before the first virgin queen emerges from a queen cell. When ready to emerge, the virgin queen will chew a circular cut around the cap of her cell. Swarm cells hang from the bottom of a frame while supersedure queens or emergency queens are generally raised in cells built out from the face of a frame.Īs the young queen larva pupates with her head down, the workers cap the queen cell with beeswax. In general, the old queen starts laying eggs into queen cups when conditions are right for swarming or supersedure. Worker bees will only further build up the queen cup once the queen has laid an egg in a queen cup. Queen cells start out as queen cups, which are larger than the cells of normal brood comb and are oriented vertically instead of horizontally. The fully constructed queen cells have a peanut-like shape and texture.

Queens are raised in specially constructed queen cells. As a result of the difference in diet, the queen will develop into a sexually mature female, unlike the worker bees. All bee larvae are fed some royal jelly for the first few days after hatching but only queen larvae are fed the jelly exclusively. Worker larvae are fed bee bread which is a mixture of nectar and pollen. Queens are fed only royal jelly, a protein-rich secretion from glands on the heads of young workers. Diet in the larval stage determines whether the bee will develop into a queen or a worker. Any fertilized egg has the potential to become a queen. If they are successful, they fall to the ground and die after copulation. While male bees serve no architectural or pollinating purpose, their primary function (if they are healthy enough) is to mate with a queen bee. Development Older queen larvae in queen cell lying on top of wax comb A queen cup Queen larvae floating on royal jelly in opened queen cups laid on top of wax combĭuring the warm parts of the year, female 'worker' bees leave the hive every day to collect nectar and pollen. However, as in the Brazilian stingless bee Schwarziana quadripunctata, a single nest may have multiple queens or even dwarf queens, ready to replace a dominant queen in case of a sudden death. The term 'queen bee' can be more generally applied to any dominant reproductive female in a colony of a eusocial bee species other than honey bees. There is normally only one adult, mated queen in a hive, in which case the bees will usually follow and fiercely protect her. Queens are developed from larvae selected by worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queen (marked) surrounded by Africanized workersĪ queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. For other uses, see Queen bee (disambiguation).

Queen bee life cycle