A honey bee queen bee lives much longer than workers, typically averaging 2 to 3 years, but can live up to 4 or 5 years, with some rare cases even longer, though their egg-laying productivity declines, leading to replacement by the colony or beekeeper. Her lifespan depends on fertility, colony care, and resources, as she's protected and fed by workers, unlike foraging worker bees with short lives.
Daily life
A well-mated and well-fed queen of quality stock can lay about 1,500 eggs per day during the spring build-up—more than her own body weight in eggs every day. She is continuously surrounded by worker bees who meet her every need, giving her food and disposing of her waste.
The "3 feet, 3 miles rule" is a beekeeping guideline for moving hives: move them less than 3 feet (so they find the new spot easily using landmarks and scent) or more than 3 miles (so they're forced to reorient to a completely new landscape). Moving them an intermediate distance (e.g., 50 feet to 2 miles) confuses forager bees, causing them to return to the old, empty location and get lost.
In order to become mated, she will go on several mating flights throughout the first 2 weeks post-emergence. During these mating flights, she exits the hive and flies to a Drone Congregation Area (DCA), where she will mate with multiple drones. A queen will only undergo one mating period in her lifetime.
So, there you have it. Queen honey bees are generally not considered to be dangerous to humans. That said, they certainly have the ability to sting when threatened. In the unlikely chance you are stung by a queen honey bee, don't forget it's important to first remove the stinger sooner than later.
Think all bees look alike? Well we don't all look alike to them, according to a new study that shows honeybees, who have 0.01% of the neurons that humans do, can recognize and remember individual human faces.
"Do you know that...? - Old bees don't return to the hive in the evening? They spend the night on flowers, and if they have the chance to see another sunrise, they resume their activity by bringing pollen or nectar to the colony. They do this sensing that the end is near.
Follow these October beekeeping tips to keep your bees safe and healthy and make the most of the fall season.
A male drone will mount the queen and insert his endophallus, ejaculating semen. After ejaculation, a male honey bee pulls away from the queen, though his endophallus is ripped from his body, remaining attached to the newly fertilized queen.
The bees will sting only if threatened. But keep your distance. Moving swarms can pose a higher sting risk, and should be avoided. If you encounter one, move a safe distance away, or indoors if possible.
When removing honey bees, the best time is at dusk and dawn most of the bees will be inside their hive. If you have aggressive, hot or Africanized bees it is best to remove during the day as most of the bees will be gone pollinating flowers and gathering nectar.
From the very first, the bee has been not merely an insect, but a point of view. But times change. And one of the ways in which we of the modern age differ from Aristotle and Virgil and Shakespeare is that we no longer believe in a king bee.
The bee hunches over, lowering its head to the silicone. Its mouth opens and closes, kissing the ground. This is its final gesture before it dies. Inside its body, the two glands in its venom sac are releasing liquids that, alone, are not harmful.
No, modern, ethical bee venom harvesting does not harm bees because it uses mild electric currents to make them sting a glass plate, allowing venom release without the stinger detaching (unlike stinging a tough surface like skin), so the bees survive unharmed and can return to normal hive activity. Older methods, like forcing bees to sting rubber or crushing them, were fatal, but current techniques focus on cruelty-free collection for medicine and skincare.
Bees dislike strong, pungent scents like peppermint, citronella, garlic, cinnamon, and clove, which overwhelm their sensitive noses, along with smoky smells and some essential oils (tea tree, eucalyptus). They are particularly put off by the strong odors of these herbs and spices, using them as deterrents for patios, windows, and garden areas to encourage bees to move elsewhere.
The 7/10 rule in beekeeping is a guideline for when to add a new box (super) to a hive, suggesting you add it when bees have built comb, brood, or stored honey on 7 out of 10 frames in the current box, indicating they need more space and preventing congestion, which can lead to swarming. This proactive expansion supports the colony's growth, reduces stress, and maintains natural hive behavior, but it's also important to consider factors like time of year and overall hive health, not just frame count.
Varroa Mites are the #1 enemy of honey bee and beekeepers around the world. These external parasites feed on the blood of adult honey bees, and reproduce on honey bee pupae. They can considerably weaken individual bees, and often vector viruses and other pathogens between bees.
While in some cases they may be attracted to your floral scent, in others, they appear to be simply bewildered by what kind of creature you are, and what your smell belongs to. If you notice a solitary carpenter bee hanging around you, particularly if you are wearing a strong scent, this could likely be the cause.
Yes. Bees communicate in pheromones (basically, smell). If someone is anxious or afraid, the bees smell that and think there's something to be afraid of, and they will react defensively.
Honeybees can recognize and remember human faces, to them we look like strange flowers. They can build respect and trust with people they remember! Bees are also very capable of showing love and affection.
The ejaculation is so powerful that it ruptures the endophallus, disconnecting the drone from the queen. The bulb of the endophallus is broken off inside of the queen during mating—so drones mate only once, and die shortly after.
If it's any consolation, stinging is lethal to the bee. A bee stings to defend her colony against intruders or if she perceives her own life is in certain jeopardy (only female bees have stingers). An individual bee can sting only once in her life and dies shortly afterward.