yesterday while driving in the car.
A age 6 1/2: "Mommy how do bees know what bee will be the Queen-bee?"
Me: "I think you can tell because the Queen bee is the biggest, or looks different in some way."
A: "well I know that, but there is only one Queen at a time so when one dies or is dieing how do they know what bee will be the next Queen-bee?"
Me: stumped!
I told him we would google it. That is my answer to about 95% of his questions these days.
I have googled and not yet found the answer to this question so if anyone is of you is up on bee info I would love to know the answer to this question (so I can relay it and look brilliant) to my inquisitive child.
Thanks :)
3 comments:
It's rather dramatic!....
"If the queen is injured or killed, or her egg laying decreases, a process called supersedure takes place. Worker bees choose certain eggs and prime them to turn into queens. They feed these young nothing but royal jelly and after a week, the potential queens emerge from their beeswax-sealed cells and fight each other to the death until just one remains. The winner will then sting to death any potential queens still sealed in their cells, after which she mates with a number of drones in the air, an endeavour known as the “maiden flight.”
Read more at Suite101: Honey Bee Facts: Information About Queen Bees, Drones, and Worker Bees http://www.suite101.com/content/honey-bee-facts-a195246#ixzz0zNf13NOR
Fascinating and disgusting. I would have guessed that if the queen dies, the whole hive dies off. :)
Thank you Eliza! Your such a great Aunt and researcher :)
& LK all I can say is I am glad I am not a bee!
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