Bienenkönigin

Bienenkönigin, often translated as "queen bee," refers to the single, fertile female in a honey bee colony. Her primary role is reproduction, laying all the eggs that will become the workers, drones, and future queens. She is larger than other bees in the hive, with a longer abdomen. A queen bee is produced from a fertilized egg, just like a worker bee, but is fed exclusively royal jelly throughout her larval and pupal stages. This special diet triggers her development into a reproductive female.

The queen bee is identifiable by her size and, in many cases, by a marking applied by beekeepers for identification and tracking. She does not forage for food or participate in hive maintenance; her entire existence revolves around laying eggs. The lifespan of a queen bee can range from one to five years, significantly longer than that of worker bees.

When a colony becomes overcrowded or the queen ages, the worker bees may decide to supersede her or swarm. Supersedure involves raising a new queen alongside the old one, with the new queen eventually killing the older one or taking over egg-laying. Swarming is a natural reproductive process where the old queen leaves with a portion of the worker bees to establish a new colony. The queen communicates with the hive through pheromones, chemical signals that influence the behavior and cohesion of the colony.