Successful queen rearing in honey bee, Apis mellifera

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The queen is very directed and regimented in everything she does, from her mating flight to her regular, consistent egg-laying prowess. Given her central role and even her name, it is understandable that the layman assumes the queen to be a decision-maker of sorts. This is not the case at all. She is the star of the hive, because of her egg-laying abilities, but is controlled by an overall puppet master - the collection of worker bees. Worker bees have the ability to raise a new queen - or kill an existing one - whenever they wish. The queen is only in control of laying eggs and when she will lay, though her use of pheromones is a key signal for the colony. Queen cups are wax dome-shaped cups intended to contain an egg for a future queen. Beekeepers should be on the lookout for queen cups during hive inspections, as they send an important message, potentially signaling imminent swarm intentions. If you see queen cups with an egg, white liquid and where the comb has been drawn out to form a queen cell, then you should pay attention.

Mohamed Abdel-Raheem Ali Abdel-Raheem, Pests & Plant Protection Department, Agricultural and Biological Research Institute, National Research Centre, Le Caire, Égypte, et Dr. Lamiaa Fingan Nashi Al-Maliki, Department of Molecular and Medical biotechnology, College of Biotechnology, Al-Nahrain University, Bagdad, Iraq.