Queen Bee (Mother Bee)

The queen bee, also known as the mother bee, is the only female individual in a colony of the species Apis mellifera with reproductive capability. Only one queen bee exists in each colony, and her presence is indispensable for the colony’s survival. The queen bee produces female worker bees from fertilized eggs and male bees (drones) from unfertilized eggs. In this sense, she is both the “mother” of the colony and, through the males produced from unfertilized eggs, the “father” of those individuals.

Physically, the queen bee can be easily distinguished from worker and male bees. Her body is long, slender, and glossy, with the abdomen significantly longer than that of worker bees. Her wings are also larger than those of workers. Her stinger is smooth, allowing her to use it multiple times if necessary. This structure gives her an advantage when interacting with other members of the colony.

The queen bee is continuously fed by a group of attendant worker bees surrounding her. She cannot feed herself. These workers provide her with royal jelly to sustain her. This social support system is essential for maintaining the queen’s high rate of egg-laying.

Image of a Honeycomb Related to Queen Bee Rearing (AA)

Queen Bee’s Roles and Pheromone Secretion

The queen bee has two primary functions:

1. Egg-laying: A young and healthy queen can lay between 1,500 and 2,000 eggs per day depending on seasonal conditions. The size and productivity of the colony are directly dependent on this egg-laying capacity.
2. Pheromone secretion: The queen maintains social order in the colony through the queen pheromone secreted by glands in her mandibles. This pheromone:
3. 1. Suppresses the rearing of new queens,
   2. Prevents the formation of false queens,
   3. Encourages worker bees to perform their division of labor,
   4. Sustains unity and harmony within the colony.

Chemically, the queen pheromone consists of unsaturated fatty acids such as 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid, and it is spread throughout the colony as bees interact and transmit the signal to one another.

The Queen Bee’s Impact on the Colony

The overall condition of the colony is directly dependent on the biological quality and genetic potential of the queen bee. The queen determines many aspects of the colony, including:

• Spring development rate,
• Efficiency of pollen and nectar collection,
• Wintering success,
• Tendency to swarm,
• Resistance to diseases,
• Behavioral calmness.

Each of these traits directly or indirectly affects the colony’s annual honey production and sustainability.

For example, an old or low-quality queen lays more unfertilized eggs due to a reduced number of sperm in her spermatheca. This increases the proportion of male bees while decreasing the number of worker bees, thereby reducing productivity.

Queen Bee Rearing (AA)

Factors Affecting Queen Bee Quality

Factors influencing queen bee quality can be grouped into genetic and environmental categories:

Genetic Factors

• The genetic makeup of the queen and the drones she mates with,
• The breeding and selection programs applied,
• Genetic purity and rate of error-free mating.

Environmental and Rearing Factors

• Age and timing of larval transfer,
• Season of rearing,
• Characteristics of the attendant colonies,
• Availability of sufficient and high-quality drones in the mating area,
• Disease and stress factors encountered during the rearing period.

Physical quality indicators include emergence weight, spermatheca volume, sperm count, and time to onset of egg-laying. These parameters are the main determinants of the queen’s acceptance rate and performance within the colony.

Queen Bee Rearing and Economic Importance

Considering the increasing number of colonies in Türkiye and the necessity of replacing queens every two years, approximately four million new queen bees are required annually. However, current production falls far short of this demand. In Türkiye, fewer than 400,000 queen bees are produced each year.

The widespread use of low-quality queens leads to reduced colony productivity and economic losses in beekeeping operations. Quality analyses have shown that a large proportion of commercially available queens are inadequate in terms of live weight, sperm count, and fertilization rates.

Bee Farm Engaged in Queen Bee Rearing (AA)

Colonies managed with high-quality queens:

• Have longer lifespans,
• Produce higher yields of honey, pollen, and royal jelly,
• Are more resistant to diseases,
• Are more resilient during migratory beekeeping.

The queen bee is the carrier of the colony’s genetic makeup and the regulator of its social organization. The quality of this single individual is decisive for colony success and directly affects the efficiency of all beekeeping activities.