The queen bee can be identified by its unusual ly large size and splayed legs.ĭrone bees, which are males born of unfertilised eggs, lead the shortest, simplest li ves of all the bees in the hive. In order to maintain her grip on power, the queen bee constantly secretes a pheromone within the hive that sterili s es all of the other females in the colony. However, the first order of business for a new-born queen is to fight the old queen to the death, then exterminate any other infant or larvae queens. Queen bees are created in the larva l stage, when worker bees feed it with a protein-rich concoction called royal jelly. The role of the queen bee is a cutthroat one. Laying eggs keeps the queen busy – laying somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 eggs almost every day! Everything else the queen bee needs is done for her. The queen bee is a fertile female whose sole task is to keep the hive chock-full of new bee s. The Queen Beeīelieve it or not, bees don’t know that they’re making honey for you – everything every bee does within your hive they do in service to their queen. Let’s take a closer look at the different types of bees in your hive. You’ve likely heard of the queen bee, workers and drones, but do you know what makes them different? What are their different roles within the hive? Can you spot the differences just by looking at them? ( You can! ) Each bee serves a vital function within the hive and throughout the process that delivers honey to your taste buds. As tempting as it may be to think that your job is just to provide the bee hive frames and then enjoy the honey once it’s ready, knowing the different bees in your hive is fundamental to beekeeping. Whether you’re a novice beekeeping hobbyist or an established commercial apiarist, it pays to know where your honey is coming from.

Drone bee vs worker bee