Unlike worker bees who are individuals with immature female reproductive system, the queen bee can be fertilized and lay eggs.The duration of her life - about 5 years.However, the full ability to reproduce retained only the first two years.The hive queen - an equal member of the community, which largely depends on the actions of working individuals.
queen bee may be postponed for a day two or three thousand eggs.From its quality depends the strength of the family.Older individuals worse cope with their responsibilities, young - much better.In appearance it is very different from the worker bees.The uterus is several times larger, has a long abdomen, rounded sides.Wings cover it only half.The feet do not have a device used to collect pollen.Barren young queen is somewhat different: it small and thin abdomen.It differs activity and agility.
Development queen bee takes place in a specially-built liquor.It is a great zheludeobraznuyu cell.Larvae of worker bees feed royal jelly, which is a secret of the pharyngeal glands.Such feed the workers bees and drones only receive the first 3 days.Then they move on to a slightly more roughage - a mixture of honey and pollen.The uterus also gets jelly throughout the larval stage of development.
The same product it start to nurse as soon as she starts laying eggs.At this time around it formed a kind of retinue of a group of young nurse bees.They clean it and take care of it in every way.By increasing or decreasing the diet, the worker bees regulate egg production.If the family will remain for any reason without a uterus, the bees immediately proceed to the new conclusion.At the same time they lay not one but several of uterine cells.This is due to some peculiarities of the life of the swarm.
A young queen bee, leaving the nest, the first thing goes in search of another of the uterus, and when they met they immediately begin to "sort things out".The winner with the most powerful.If the hive has a uterus, located in the mother, a survivor would get them to their sting there.However, the worker bees will never let you destroy all.The fact that the young unfertilized uterus can just simply fly away.In this case, the bees will spare individuals from which a new queen will be displayed.
Within two weeks after leaving the nest several times the queen bee leaves the hive to mark its location.On the fifteenth day of her life, she takes off again have to meet with drones.In flight, it is accompanied by a huge number of bees.She moves so fast that it can only catch up with the strongest drone.Pairing usually lasts 1-3 seconds.It takes place at a height of 5-30 m. The queen mates more often than not with one, but with 9-10 drones.On the third or fourth day it becomes fetal and then starts to lay fertilized eggs, which then would display the worker bees.
fate of drones while quite sad.Spar in flight with the uterus immediately killed.Those who were not so nimble in the fall, when the family begins to experience lack of feed, worker bees from a beehive simply thrown out.
Some beekeepers in the event that the family is left without a uterus, buy a new one.At the present time, thanks to the Internet, this is not too difficult.Some also practice self conclusion of queen bees.The case is rather complicated and requires experience.The most important thing in this case - to pick up a good parent family.For this comparison is carried out on an apiary.Often it happens that in equal conditions, some families give a lot more honey than the rest.That they are suitable for queens and drones.
