Queen Bee Facts About Hives
The working bee hive contains a colony of bees made of thousands of female workers, several male drones, and only one queen bee. The queen is responsible for the continued life of the hive by laying fertilized eggs that will eventually grow into other bees. This is her only responsibility throughout her entire life.
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Description
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A queen bee is slightly larger than the average worker bee. She lack pollen baskets on her legs and has a longer, slender abdomen, which is necessary for reaching down into honeycomb cells to lay eggs. The queen also possesses a stinger that can be used to battle with other newly born queens for supremacy of the hive. Beekeepers usually mark a queen's back to make her easier to locate in the colony.
Development
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As a colony becomes larger and more crowded, the urge to swarm increases. Worker bees will build larger, specialized cells. The eggs laid in these cells will be fed an exclusive diet of royal jelly, a special compound produced by glands from the worker bees. Eventually, new, virgin queens will emerge from these cells.
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Succession
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When the new queen emerges, she may be detected by the current queen within the colony. Frequently, the older queen will kill her rival. However, as a reigning queen gets older or weak, her ability to control the activities of the hive will diminish. When this occurs, the old queen may leave the colony, taking part of it along with her to form a new colony. The new virgin queen will then mate with the drones and begin her reign within the existing hive.
Pheromones
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Queen bees produce chemical substances called pheromones. These chemicals act as communications signals within the hive. Some pheromones attract drones for mating purposes. Others encourage worker activity within the hive or caring behavior toward the queen. As a queen ages, her ability to produce pheromones may diminish to the point where she is replaced by a younger queen.
Responsibilities
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After the queen mates, she begins to lay eggs in the honeycomb cells created by the workers. A queen may lay up to 2000 eggs per day. Each fertilized egg she lays will usually become a female worker. Queens also have the ability to lay unfertilized eggs, which produce drone bees. The sperm obtained while mating will last a queen for her entire lifetime.
Swarming
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When a queen leaves a colony, many of the worker bees will follow her. This is referred to as a swarm. Swarming is the natural process by which bee colonies reproduce. The queen, emitting a pheromone, will leave the hive and fly to a location on a nearby branch or other structure. Many of the worker bees will then gorge themselves on honey and fly out of the hive, eventually landing on the same location to form a ball of bees. From there, scouts are sent out to identify potential locations for the new colony. Once found, the colony is informed and then relocates to its permanent home.
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References
- Photo Credit apiculteur image by Claudio Calcagno from Fotolia.com
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