What's a queen honey bee look like?

A queen, also known as the laying queen, is the only female in the colony that is capable of laying eggs A queen will begin to lay eggs when she is about five days old. Throughout her life, a queen will lay an average of one to two thousand eggs per day. In a colony that includes thousands of workers, she can lay up to six million eggs during her lifetime.

What do a queen honey bee look like?

The head of a queen honey bee is wrinkled and convex, matching the shape of the abdomen. A worker’s head is slightly rounded but not as much, looking more like a bumblebee’s. A queen’s face is covered with hundreds of long, hair-like vibrantly colored cheeks called vibratomes, which are used to gather up the sticky honey from flowers.

What color is a queen honey bee?

This species of honey bee is black or reddish-brown. Queens are around 12 millimeters in length, and their abdomen is shiny and covered in a thick coat of wax. A worker bee’s abdomen is much thinner and less distinct.

What does a queen honey bee sting look like?

A mature queen looks like a small black bumblebee, and she is responsible for laying eggs. A newly mated queen looks different from a fully grown one, with a much lighter color. A queen’s abdomen is thicker than a worker’s and has a distinct hourglass shape.

What does a queen honey bee look like?

The queen is the only fertile female in a hive. She is responsible for laying eggs and ensuring the survival of the colony. Her body is larger than that of the worker bees, and she is also winged. The queen also produces a pheromone known as queen mandibular gland secretion (or Q-MGS), which causes worker bees to stop laying and focus all their energy on caring for the queen.