A female bee that serves as the reproductive center and social core of a honey bee colony, laying up to 2000 eggs per day and maintaining colony cohesion through pheromone production.

Queen Bee Development

The queen bee begins life as a regular female egg, but through specialized feeding of royal jelly by worker bees, she develops into a reproductive powerhouse. This extraordinary transformation occurs in a specially constructed queen cell, which is larger and oriented vertically unlike the horizontal cells of worker bees.

Physical Characteristics

Notably larger than worker bee
Extended abdomen for egg-laying
Shorter stinger with fewer barbs
Lacks pollen-collecting structures
Average lifespan of 2-5 years (compared to weeks for workers)

Colony Role

Reproductive Function

The queen's primary role is reproduction, maintaining colony population through continuous egg-laying. After her nuptial flight, during which she mates with multiple drone bee, she can lay both:

Fertilized eggs (becoming females)
Unfertilized eggs (becoming males)

Social Cohesion

Through the production of queen pheromone, the queen:

Prevents worker bee ovary development
Maintains colony unity
Influences worker behavior and productivity
Signals her health status to the colony

Succession

When a queen ages or dies, the colony initiates queen rearing through:

Creation of emergency queen cells
Feeding selected larvae royal jelly
swarming when multiple queens emerge

Cultural Significance

The term "queen bee" has entered popular culture as a social hierarchy for:

Female leadership
Social dominance
Organizational structure

In beekeeping, queen management is crucial for:

Colony productivity
Genetic improvement
honey production
bee breeding

The queen bee exemplifies one of nature's most sophisticated examples of eusociality, where reproductive division of labor creates complex social structures.