Queen Bees

Monthly History Night presentations began this month with Shannon Wooten as   presenter. A few years ago, Shannon and wife, Glenda, told us about bee keeping in Shasta County. This time the focus will be on queen bees. 

Royalty demands special attention. A queen bee will have many nurse bees which   produce and feed the queen "royal" jelly for the duration of her life. Many drones provide the queen with enough semen to last a lifetime. However, the drones die right after mating while the queen may live up to three years and lay up to 2000 eggs per day. 

The queen's comfort is insured by the activity in the hive as workers clean and polish cells, forage and produce honey. Some bees may even stand near the hive door and beat their wings to provide a breeze on a hot day, or they may slurp up water and spit it around the hive. 

As with all royalty, her majesty is treated exceptionally by her subjects.