Specialized Bees and Their Role in Queen Bee Development

Scientists have discovered a specialized group of worker honeybees that construct their queen’s unique waxy cell within the hive. Worker bees have various roles to maintain the hive, such as gathering food, nurturing young bees, and caring for the queen, who is responsible for laying all the eggs.

Recent research shows that the worker bees tasked with creating the queen’s cell effectively generate heat. This heat helps them melt and blend specific chemicals into the wax. Julia Bowsher, a bee researcher at North Dakota State University who was not part of the study, mentioned, “No one had ever thought that there might be a specialized group of workers building these queen cells.”

These bees were found to be younger and possessed particular genetic expressions that made them suitable for the task. The resulting queen cell is distinct, made of softer wax with a higher melting point compared to the wax used for worker bees’ cells.

Queen bees are raised by consuming royal jelly, secreted by worker bees. Diet has long been considered the primary factor in developing a queen. The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest that the queen’s environment also plays a crucial role. To explore this theory, researchers raised baby queens in cups capped with either queen or worker wax. Though they consumed royal jelly, queens in worker wax environments were smaller and less likely to survive.

Kai Wang, a study co-author from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, stated, “For centuries, we believed ‘you are what you eat’ was the only rule for making a queen bee. Our study rewrites that rule to say ‘you are where you live, too.’”

These discoveries provide a rare insight into hive dynamics, yet questions remain. Honeybees are crucial for pollination and the survival of crops like blueberries, squash, watermelon, and almonds. More studies are necessary to unravel the complexity of queen cell-building bees and the contributing factors that lead to developing the hive’s sovereign.

Julia Bowsher expressed interest in learning more about the specific chemical composition of the wax and the active ingredients directly affecting queen growth.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP holds sole responsibility for the content.