Why does each hive have only one queen bee?

Bees have a defined social organization: any colony contains only one queen bee

Bees have been around for about 4 million years and have evolved over time to become the most important pollinating insects on Earth. All hives existing in nature are formed through a very precise and immutable structure. Within a colony there is a single queen bee , many worker bees and a part of drones (male bees).

Each colony is made up of tens of thousands of bees and a single ruler. But why is there only one queen bee within such a large group of bees? Let's find out together.

This is why the queen bee is only one for each hive

Bees live in colonies containing a very large number of individuals. Inside the hives, each component has an important and well-defined role coordinated with that of all the others.

You should know that worker bees are all sterile females. The queen bee is the only individual capable of reproducing and generating fertilized eggs. In the world of bees, therefore, reproduction is entrusted exclusively to one component.

The queen bee through the production of pheromones inhibits other female bees, blocking their natural instinct for mating. The other females therefore do not feel the need to reproduce and, in addition to this, the workers do not even develop an efficient reproductive system and are unable to produce fertilized eggs.

The queen bee retains the exclusivity of being the only bee that can reproduce and mate with drones. Precisely for this reason the role of her so important to her is very jealously guarded. 

In the event that more queen bees are born, the two will face a deadly battle to determine the future ruler. In each hive there is room for only one queen bee. Nature has made sure that a single individual was enough to generate a huge number of bees.

This explains why there is only one queen bee for each hive but let's continue to deepen the topic.

What does a queen bee do? What is your job? 

The queen bee is the mother of all bees in a hive. It can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day and survive for three to five years. Considering that the average life span of a worker is about 60 days, the queen bee is much more long-lived.

The queen bee is fed exclusively with royal jelly and for this reason her body develops differently. The queen is easily recognizable because she is larger than her worker bees. Royal jelly ensures that it develops a very efficient reproductive system compared to other specimens of the same sex.

The queen bee spends her life laying eggs that generate new individuals for the hive. Female bees are born from fertilized eggs while drones are born from unfertilized eggs. The queen mates only once in her life with a large number of drones during the nuptial flight.

After the mating flight the queen stores enough semen in her body to produce fertilized eggs for years.

The role of the hive ruler is limited only to reproduction and is the essential element of any hive. Without the replacement of bees, a swarm would have a very short life.

When the queen gets old or is no longer efficient, the worker bees replace her with a new one. The other bees in fact build royal cells and when the egg hatches they have a new young queen at their disposal (the old queen leaves the hive and goes to settle elsewhere).

The role of worker bees and drones

The worker bees do all the work in the hive starting from the care of the queen bee to any other necessary task. Worker bees build cells, feed the larvae, collect pollen, produce honey and do just about everything. The worker bees divide their time between these tasks and guarding against intruders by protecting the hive from predators such as wasps and hornets.

The drones, on the other hand, have a marginal role and are operational alone during the mating phase with the queen, after which they die.

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