How Big Is a Queen Bee? - Queen Bee Size
The size of the queen bee is around 2 centimeters or 0.8 inches, although this can depend on various factors. This makes them by far the largest bee in a colony. This is very important since they play a fundamental role in the survival of a hive. It allows them certain functions which other bees cannot perform. However, they are born in a similar way to all bees in that they hatch from an egg, pupate from their larval form and turn into an adult once they emerge. Bees are eusocial insects, meaning they have an important social structure organized into castes. In addition to the queen be, we can find workers and drones which carry out various functions.
For beekeepers, queen bee size is one of the best ways to distinguish between types of bees. Most other people will never see a queen bee since they rarely leave the hive. At thedailyECO, we explain more by asking how big is a queen bee?
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Queen bee size
The queen bee is distinguished from the others because it is larger, particularly when it is in the reproductive stage. They measure an average of 2 centimeters or 0.8 inches. If we compare with the average 1.5 cm of the worker bees we see they are considerably larger.
The responsibility of these bees is to reproduce with the drone males via fertilized eggs. Only one queen bee is needed per colony because she produces all the eggs needed for the hive. Although it may seem surprising, this is possible because she gathers up to 5 million sperm cells from the male. She will then use mete these out throughout her life.
To have an idea the reproductive capacity of the queen bee, we can point out that a queen bee lays around 2,000 eggs every day. Due to the important reproductive capacity and the responsibility of producing all the offspring of the hive, her size is greater than that of other bees in the hive.
Other morphological elements that serve to physically differentiate queen bees from the rest include small wings and a long, soft and smooth abdomen. The latter is more developed than in other bees because of the presence of the oviduct responsible for egg formation. Her wings are smaller because her daily activities do not require flight.
Other characteristics of the queen bee
- She lacks pollen collecting apparatus because she is not responsible for obtaining food.
- Typically there is only one per hive, although colonies cannot exist without a queen bee.
- She has the ability to sting, but it only does it to fight with other queens when disputing a colony.
- She secretes mandibular pheromones that act differently on each bee.
Pheromones are very important for a queen bee when controlling her hive. They are used attract the drones so they can fertilize her eggs, but they also help keep the swarm together. These pheromones also have regulatory capacity, because they keep the hive in order so they are not aggressive, while at the same time stimulating work and industriousness. These important regulations make visible why the queen is so important to hives.
Learn more about how bees use pheromones in our article on how bees communicate.
How is the queen bee born?
The queen bee is born from an egg, just like in the other types of bees. However, she will be born in a particularly large cell compared to the rest. Once the egg is hatched, the larval stage of the queen bee is the active feeding stage before metamorphosis. It occurs 3 to 5 days after laying the egg. All the larvae are fed by royal jelly for the first 3 days. This is manufactured by the worker bees from their hypopharyngeal gland.
After this time is when the selection is made as to who will be the queen bee in the hive. This will be determined by the special food it receives. The princesses that will be the future queens will be fed royal jelly throughout their entire phase. This does not happen for the workers or the drones. This substance has a high amount of protein and it is this content that leads to the queen bee being fertile when she is an adult.
Once it stores enough food in the larval stage, it will go to the pupal stage for 7 days to carry out metamorphosis. During this time she will remain immobile and static. Although it seems that it is completely still, many events are happening inside for the next phase.
After some time, the fully formed queen bee will emerge. She will carry out two important activities. The first is that she will kill the other princess hatchlings so she does not have any competition. She will then go on a reconnaissance flight to find a drone to begin its reproductive life. Once they find the drone, the process is called nuptial flight and fertilization occurs here.
The queen bee only usually leaves the hive once in her life which is during this mating after metamorphosis. She will leave if the entire hive has to swarm for any reason, such as the destruction of the hive.
Learn about another fascinating flying insect with our article on whether dragonflies bite or sting.
How long does the queen bee live?
The queen bee lives from approximately 2 to 5 years of age. Aging will be observed by a decrease in the ability to produce eggs, until they eventually die.
At this stage it is essential to replace the queen to keep the colony alive. There are two ways to do this:
- A new princess can be prepared, with the aforementioned special larval food based on royal jelly to replace the queen bee that is about to die.
- The other option is to adopt a queen from another colony that already has a queen bee.
There is also the possibility that the queen bee does not die and that a new queen begins to develop while she is still present. In this case, the first bee will swarm out with at least half the colony and they will start another hive in a new location.
Now that you know the queen bee size, how she is born and how long she lives, you may also be interested in our article on whether a bee dies after stinging someone.
If you want to read similar articles to How Big Is a Queen Bee? - Queen Bee Size, we recommend you visit our Wild animals category.
- Cooper, O. (2021). Beginner's Guide To Beekeeping: The Complete User's Guide To Caring For Bees And Their Colonies And Making Their Hives Thrive. Italy: Tektime.
- Li, C. (2021). Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering. Germany: Springer International Publishing.
