After approximately 10 days, the queen cells are transferred from the cell building colony to small mating nuclei colonies, which are placed inside of mating yards. The queens emerge from their cells inside of the mating nuclei. After approximately 7–10 days, the virgin queens take their mating flights, mate with 10–20 drone bees, and return to their mating nuclei as mated queen bees. [17] Ribeiro, Márcia De F.; Alves, Denise De A. (2001). "Size Variation in Schwarziana quadripunctata Queens (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini)" (PDF). Revista de Etologia. 3 (1): 59–65. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-08 . Retrieved 2015-11-05.

If a queen suddenly dies, the workers will attempt to create an "emergency queen" by selecting several brood cells where a larva has just emerged which are then flooded with royal jelly. The worker bees then build larger queen cells over the normal-sized worker cells which protrude vertically from the face of the brood comb. Emergency queens are usually smaller and less prolific than normal queens. Schneider, S.S.; Painter-Kurt, S.; Degrandi-Hoffman, G. (June 2001). "The role of the vibration signal during queen competition in colonies of the honeybee, Apis mellifera". Animal Behaviour. 61 (6): 1173–1180. doi: 10.1006/anbe.2000.1689. S2CID 26650968. As the queen ages, her pheromone output diminishes. A queen bee that becomes old, or is diseased or failing, is replaced by the workers in a procedure known as "supersedure".The queen bee's abdomen is longer than the worker bees surrounding her and also longer than a male bee's. Even so, in a hive of 60,000 to 80,000 honey bees, it is often difficult for beekeepers to find the queen with any speed; for this reason, many queens in non-feral colonies are marked with a light daub of paint on their thorax. [13] The paint usually does not harm the queen and makes her easier to find when necessary. 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. 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. [2] Development [ edit ] 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 comb Beekeepers can also utilize alternative methods of queen rearing. Examples are the Jenter kit, walk-away split, Cloake board, and artificial insemination.

Sometimes tiny convex disks marked with identification numbers ( Opalithplättchen) are used when a beekeeper has many queens born in the same year - a method that can also be used to keep multiple bees in the same hive under observation for research purposes. [15] Queen rearing [ edit ] A virgin queen is a queen bee that has not mated with a drone. Virgins are intermediate in size between workers and mated, laying queens, and are much more active than the latter. They are hard to spot while inspecting a frame, because they run across the comb, climbing over worker bees if necessary, and may even take flight if sufficiently disturbed. Virgin queens can often be found clinging to the walls or corners of a hive during inspections. Ribeiro, Márcia de F.; Wenseleers, Tom; Filho, Pérsio de S. Santos; Alves, Denise de A. (2006). "Miniature queens in stingless bees: basic facts and evolutionary hypotheses" (PDF). Apidologie. 37 (2): 191–206. doi: 10.1051/apido:2006023. If the prime swarm has a virgin queen and an old queen, the old queen will usually be allowed to live. The old queen continues laying. Within a couple of weeks she will die a natural death and the former virgin, now mated, will take her place.

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During the warm parts of the year, female "worker" bees leave the hive every day to collect nectar and pollen. While male bees serve no architectural or pollinating purpose, their primary function (if they are healthy enough) is to mate with a queen bee. If they are successful, they fall to the ground and die after copulation. Any fertilized egg has the potential to become a queen. Diet in the larval stage determines whether the bee will develop into a queen or a worker. Queens are fed only royal jelly, a protein-rich secretion from glands on the heads of young workers. Worker larvae are fed bee bread which is a mixture of nectar and pollen. All bee larvae are fed some royal jelly for the first few days after hatching but only queen larvae are fed the jelly exclusively. As a result of the difference in diet, the queen will develop into a sexually mature female, unlike the worker bees. [3] Unlike the worker bees, the queen's stinger is not barbed and she is able to sting repeatedly without dying. Ellis, James D.; Mortensen, Ashley N. (2017) [2011]. "Cape honey bee - Apis mellifera capensis Escholtz". entnemdept.ufl.edu . Retrieved 2020-06-27. Queens are raised in specially constructed queen cells. The fully constructed queen cells have a peanut-like shape and texture.

During swarming season, the old queen is likely to leave with the prime swarm before the first virgin queen emerges from a queen cell. Virgin queens appear to have little queen pheromone and often do not appear to be recognized as queens by the workers. A virgin queen in her first few hours after emergence can be placed into the entrance of any queenless hive or nuc and acceptance is usually very good, whereas a mated queen is usually recognized as a stranger and runs a high risk of being killed by the older workers. Piping is most common when there is more than one queen in a hive. It is postulated that the piping is a form of battle cry announcing to competing queens and show the workers their willingness to fight. It may also be a signal to the worker bees which queen is the most worthwhile to support. Seeley, Thomas D. (2009-06-30). The Wisdom of the Hive: the social physiology of honey bee colonies. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-04340-4. Supersedure may be forced by a beekeeper, for example by clipping off one of the queen's middle or posterior legs. This makes her unable to properly place her eggs at the bottom of the brood cell; the workers detect this and then rear replacement queens. When a new queen becomes available, the workers kill the reigning queen by "balling" her, clustering tightly around her. Death through balling is accomplished by surrounding the queen and raising her body temperature, causing her to overheat and die. Balling is often a problem for beekeepers attempting to introduce a replacement queen.

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Repasky, Stephen (2016-04-22). "What's Happening In The Hive". Bee Culture - The Magazine of American Beekeeping . Retrieved 2020-06-27.