Queen bee are amazing creature . Their lifespan is many time greater than that of their doer daughters — two to five long time bet on the condition of the hive . Each queen bee confidence trick only once in a lifetime , and that is to eliminate the phallus of her competition ( likely rival queens ) before they ’ve even dream up from their female monarch cells . Otherwise , they each lead their own settlement with a muted , passive grace , rarely leaving the protection and darkness of the hive . Here are three awful facts about the queen bee .
1. The Queen Bee Leaves the Hive Only Twice
The queen bee only leaves the hive for two reasons . The first fourth dimension is for her maiden union trajectory , and the only other clock time is if the colonyswarms . About a workweek after she hatches and successfully eliminates the other queen hatchling in their cell using her cut , is the raw queen embarks on her union flight .
During this journey , the queen bee flies to what beekeepers call a “ trailer congregation area ” ( or DCA if we ’re being cryptic about it ) . The DCA is locate about 1/12 to 1 mile high in the aviation , and , as the name advise , is where drones from various neighboring colonies congregate and wait for queens . The legal age of tabby only make this flight once ; however , some have been known to go back out to a DCA to pair again .
2. The Queen Bee Mates With 10 to 15 Drones—in the Air
The queen bee ’s master role in thehoneybee hiveis to lay eggs and mother each new generation of bee . A colony ’s success is in large part assign to its numbers . to do that , the nance must fill her spermatheca , the sac where she holds the drone ’s sperm , with as much genetic material from her manly counterparts as potential . The more drone pipe she mates with , the more wide-ranging the genetics of the beehive , and the impregnable they will be . Once the virgin queen make it at the DCA , she mates with as many as 15 drones , if she ’s very favourable . The entire flight and mating process contract anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes , though it is not without meaning risk to her life .
3. The Drones Die After Mating
While a distaff actor Apis mellifera dies upon stinging a potential scourge ( the stinger being rupture from her abdomen as she flies off ) , the drone croak after matte . His whole life has lead up to this moment . For the queen , however , her immense responsibilities are just begin .
The next success of the intact colony ( and , at long last , its survival ) , rest on the queen ’s power to rest eggs dependably and increase the colony ’s universe . The mating flight is so decisive for her , in fact , that she ’s unforced to risk her life to do it again if need be . The legal age of queen only make this flight once ; however , a very small percentage have been known to go back out to a DCA to checkmate again . She does not do this lightly . Each sentence she leaves the hive , she take a chance the weather condition , depredation and accident . It is a shaky journey , but utterly necessary for the honeybees ’ survival .
