How Long Does a Queen Bee Live?

EUGE...QVav

1 Aug 2023

194

If you are fascinated by the world of bees, you might have wondered how long does a queen bee live. The queen bee is the most important member of a honey bee colony, as she is the only one who can lay fertilized eggs and produce new bees.

She also influences the behavior and unity of the colony through her pheromones, which are chemical signals that she releases. But how long does she live, and what factors affect her lifespan?

In this article, we will explore some interesting facts and research about the life of a queen bee, and answer some common questions you might have.

The Average Lifespan of a Queen Bee

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), queen bees can live up to five years in optimal conditions. However, the average lifespan of a queen bee is usually between two to three years, depending on various factors such as genetics, environment, disease, predators, and human intervention. Some beekeepers prefer to replace their queens every year or two to ensure high productivity and prevent swarming.

The lifespan of a queen bee is much longer than that of a worker bee or a drone. Worker bees, which are the female bees that do most of the tasks in the hive, such as foraging, cleaning, feeding, and defending, live only about six weeks on average during the active season. Drones, which are the male bees whose sole purpose is to mate with a queen, die immediately after mating or are expelled from the hive before winter.

The Development of a Queen Bee

A queen bee is not born as a queen, but rather becomes one through a special process of development. Any fertilized egg laid by a queen bee has the potential to become another queen. However, only a few eggs are selected by worker bees to be raised as queens. These eggs are placed in larger cells called queen cups, which are oriented vertically instead of horizontally on the comb.

The worker bees then feed these larvae with a special diet consisting of royal jelly, which is a protein-rich secretion from glands on the heads of young workers. Royal jelly stimulates the development of the reproductive organs and other characteristics of a queen bee.
The queen larvae then pupate inside their cells, which are capped with wax by the worker bees.

After about 15 days from egg-laying, the new queens emerge from their cells by chewing through the wax. The first thing they do is to look for other potential queens and try to eliminate them by stinging them to death. This ensures that there is only one queen left in the hive. However, if there are too many queens emerging at the same time, some of them may leave with a swarm of worker bees to find a new home.

The Mating Flight of a Queen Bee

The next step in the life of a queen bee is to mate with drones and store their sperm for future use. This happens during a mating flight, which usually occurs within a few days after emergence. The virgin queen flies out of the hive and attracts drones from nearby colonies with her pheromones.

She mates with multiple drones (up to 30) in mid-air, each lasting for a few seconds. During mating, the drone inserts his endophallus (a tubular organ) into the queen’s sting chamber and ejaculates his sperm. The drone then falls to the ground and dies, as his endophallus is ripped off his body.

The queen collects and stores the sperm in her spermatheca (a special organ) for the rest of her life. She can use this sperm to fertilize eggs whenever she wants. She can also lay unfertilized eggs, which develop into drones by parthenogenesis (a form of asexual reproduction). The queen returns to the hive after mating and never leaves again unless she swarms or is replaced.

The Egg-Laying Role of a Queen Bee

The main role of a queen bee is to lay eggs and produce new bees for the colony. She can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day during peak season, which is more than her own body weight. She lays one egg per cell in an orderly pattern on the comb. She can control whether to lay a fertilized or an unfertilized egg by contracting or relaxing her muscles around her spermatheca. A fertilized egg will become a female bee (either a worker or a queen), while an unfertilized egg will become a male bee (a drone).

The worker bees take care of the eggs and larvae by feeding them with royal jelly for the first few days and then with honey and pollen for the rest of their development. The worker bees also regulate the temperature and humidity in the brood chamber (the part of the hive where the eggs and larvae are) by fanning their wings or clustering together. The eggs hatch into larvae after about three days, and the larvae pupate after about six days. The pupae then emerge as adult bees after about 12 days for workers, 14 days for drones, and 16 days for queens.

The Pheromone Role of a Queen Bee

Another role of a queen bee is to produce pheromones that regulate the colony’s activities and unity. Pheromones are chemical signals that bees use to communicate with each other and influence their behavior. The queen bee has several glands that secrete different types of pheromones, such as:

The mandibular glands, which produce the queen mandibular pheromone (QMP). This pheromone has multiple effects, such as inhibiting the development of ovaries in worker bees, preventing worker bees from building new queen cells, attracting drones during mating flights, and promoting cohesion and stability in the colony13.
The Dufour’s gland, which produces the queen retinue pheromone (QRP). This pheromone attracts worker bees to form a retinue around the queen and groom and feed her.
The tergal glands, which produce the queen footprint pheromone (QFP). This pheromone marks the cells where the queen has laid eggs and prevents other queens or workers from laying eggs in the same cells.

The queen bee distributes her pheromones throughout the hive by direct contact with worker bees or by leaving traces on the comb. The worker bees then spread the pheromones to other bees by trophallaxis (food exchange) or grooming. The pheromones help maintain the social order and harmony in the colony.

The Factors That Affect the Lifespan of a Queen Bee

As we have seen, the lifespan of a queen bee can vary from a few months to several years. There are many factors that can affect how long a queen bee lives, such as:

Genetics: Some strains of bees may have longer-lived queens than others. For example, some studies have found that Africanized honey bees have longer-lived queens than European honey bees. Genetics also determine the quality and quantity of sperm that a queen bee receives from drones, which may affect her fertility and longevity.
Environment: The conditions in which a queen bee lives can also influence her lifespan. For example, temperature, humidity, light, and season can affect her metabolism, reproduction, and immunity. Exposure to pesticides, pollutants, parasites, pathogens, or predators can also harm or kill a queen bee.
Disease: A queen bee can suffer from various diseases that can reduce her lifespan or cause her death. Some of these diseases are bacterial (such as American foulbrood or European foulbrood), fungal (such as chalkbrood or nosema), viral (such as deformed wing virus or black queen cell virus), or parasitic (such as varroa mites or tracheal mites). Some diseases can also affect the quality of her eggs or sperm, leading to reduced fertility or viability of her offspring.
Human intervention: A queen bee can also be affected by human intervention, such as beekeeping practices or research experiments. Some beekeepers may replace their queens every year or two to ensure high productivity and prevent swarming. Some researchers may manipulate the development or mating of queens to study their genetics or behavior. These interventions can have positive or negative effects on the lifespan of a queen bee.

Conclusion

The life of a queen bee is fascinating and complex. She is the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the hive. She is also the source of pheromones that regulate the colony’s activities and unity. She can live up to five years in optimal conditions, but her lifespan can vary depending on various factors such as genetics, environment, disease, and human intervention.

We hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new about the life of a queen bee. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them below. We would love to hear from you!

References

How Long Does a Queen Bee Live? - ThoughtCo
Queen bee - Wikipedia
How Long Does a Queen Bee Live? - AZ Animals
What Is the Life Span of a Honey Bee? | Sciencing
The Astonishing World Of Bee Reproduction - beekeeping-101.com
How Honeybees Reproduce - PerfectBee
How Do Bees Reproduce? | A Factual Overview - BeesWiki
What Is The Role Of A Queen Bee? - Bee Professor
The Role of the Queen Bee - PerfectBee
The Vital Role of a Queen Bee - Carolina Honeybees
21 Fun Facts About Queen Bees - Bee Real Honey
Fascinating facts about the queen bee - National Garden Scheme
Queen Bee Facts - The Fascinating and Deadly Truth About Queen Bees | Link

Our Recent Articles:

One-shots:

Articles Series:

The Power of the Placebo Effect - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The Future of Cities: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Quantum Gene Editing: Merging Quantum Physics with CRISPR Technology 🧬 - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
How to Trick our Brains into Being More Innovative - Part 1, Part 2
The Role of Bacteria in Our Health: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

-----

👋 If you enjoyed this topic, we'd love to hear from you! Show your support by reacting and leaving a comment below. Let us know your thoughts, or any additional ideas related to this discussion. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will help us improve and bring you more exciting content in the future. Thank you for being a part of our community! 👍💬😊