Queen Bee

Intro Queen bee is an adult, mated female who is the primary reproducer in a honey bee colony. While there is usually only one queen per hive, her influence extends to almost all members, as she is the mother of most, if not all, of the bees. Any female bee larva can become a queen. Worker bees select certain larvae and feed them exclusively with royal jelly throughout their development. This protein-rich diet is what enables a larva to develop into a mature queen, unlike worker bees who switch to a diet of pollen and honey. Queen's lifespan is significantly longer than that of a worker bee. On average, she lives for two to three years, though some have been known to live up to five.