BEES QUEENS: LIFE IN THE BEEHIVE

Everyone is inclined to think that the life of queen bees is comfortable and comfortable. In some ways it is so but, analyzing the world of bees more deeply, we discover that the role of sovereign has dark sides and that bees are dominated by survival mechanisms that are sometimes very cruel.

Worker bees and services

Every single bee in the hive manages 100% of its existence around the needs of the queen bees.

The worker bees and, in general, the whole swarm, take care to ensure that the queen bee is always in optimal health.

In particular, the worker bees flanked by nurse bees, and the rest of the swarm, ensure that the queen is kept in excellent condition through numerous interventions including:

• Providing nourishment for the queen bee : From the larval stage, the queen doesn't have to worry about looking for food. The other bees collect for her all the elements necessary to provide for her sustenance. In particular, bees strive to produce large stocks of food for its continued survival (even in view of winter). The substance par excellence that the queen eats is royal jelly, called in this way because it is intended solely for the nourishment of the sovereign. Having said that, we can therefore say that a queen, independently, would not be able to obtain nourishment

• Provide for the heating of the queen: also in this case the bees work hard to exhaustion to keep the queen always protected and warm. In some cases, many bees lose their own life to guarantee that of their queen.

We have therefore found that during her existence, a queen bee always has everything. Her life is much more comfortable than that of the other bees but let's find out why.

Around all these benefits, there is an important return. Bees do not lend themselves to anyone without getting anything in return. These are very hard-working animals but, as always, behind this there is their natural need to survive.

The queen bee is the one who can reproduce. It is the only specimen of the whole hive. The queen allows the survival of the swarm, which in the moment in which she does not produce new larvae and therefore new future bees, would face death.

Queen bees and reproduction

Due to the numerous benefits that queen bees receive, it is important that they are able to reciprocate with efficient work in the hive.

But how does this happen? Through reproduction.

When a queen bee is fertile, she does a continuous job of laying eggs for months. It is estimated that a queen can lay up to 1500 eggs per day! In this way the survival of the swarm is assured.

If a queen bee stopped producing eggs, the swarm would shrink a lot over time. The more numerous a swarm is, the stronger it is. When the individuals that compose it begin to decrease, the swarm weakens and if it did not generate new components, it would weaken until it disappears.

The risks to the role of sovereign

The role of the queen bee within the hive is the most important. As a result of this, a queen cannot afford to be wrong.

As loyal as her family is, very often a queen loses her life to her own swarm. The main cause is usually related to fertilization. This moment is long awaited by the swarm that eagerly awaits the queen's ripening and then invites her to mate with the drones.

Once fertilized, the queen will finally be able to lay fertile eggs that will give life only to female bees. If fertilization for various reasons does not take place correctly, the worker bees can even kill their own queen to replace her with a new one.

Remember that the queen bee leaves the hive only once for the nuptial flight (mating) and that after mating the drones lose their lives. Failure to fertilize would not allow the queen to meet the swarm's needs for egg production

In these cases, bees are very selective and demanding. A ruler who slows down their survival mechanisms is killed.

In other cases, however, it may happen that the queen bee is killed by her swarm for other reasons that usually concern external factors.

In beekeeping it is important to know the life of bees in depth. Regarding queen bees, it is always necessary to pay attention to the mechanisms of introduction into the swarms and make sure that they are always correctly accepted.

If you want to find out more read our article Introduction queen bee in a swarm . We will explain how to proceed for correct insertion.

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