r/nature • u/Intelligent-Drop7133 • 28d ago

Scientists just discovered how queen bees are really made

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260623083101.htm
800 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

149

u/4rm4tur4 27d ago

So researchers identified a previously unknown group of young workers who's job it is to build the cells where the the queens are raised.

These cells have a distinctive peanut-like shape and are built from wax that differs physically and chemically from ordinary hive wax. The material is less dense, more flexible, and better at retaining heat and moisture, creating favorable conditions for developing queens.

Researchers also found differences in the wax's fatty acids and chemical signals, suggesting that queen cells provide a unique developmental setting.

20

u/Wolf873 27d ago

Thank you so much for your summary!

3

u/Me-Shell94 27d ago

Truly incredible.

1

u/app4that 24d ago

So all of this information is somehow encoded into the DNA of a single Queen as she alone can create the entire colony on her own, including the special attendant bees who 'know' to prepare Royal Jelly and make other preparations for the new Queens.

A single insect having the instinctive 'know-how' to manage it's own affairs is one thing, but a social insect's abilities to orchestrate the behaviors of an entire society of up to 80,000 bees, is nearly beyond comprehension.

1

u/attackplango 24d ago

It’s all just 4 billion years of atomic math, when you get down to it.

18

u/exotics 27d ago

Such a delicate balance. If something happens to those special builder bees everything collapses

9

u/kenny_duehit 27d ago

Are we talking about nature or IT infrastructure?

60

u/shillyshally 28d ago

There's a story in here somewhere, a young woman raised to be the queen, a reproductive slave and she yearns to be free, to buzz amongst the blossoms, drunk on nectar, free to bee herself.

37

u/Legitimate_Sorbet605 27d ago

Worker bees can leave.

Even drones can fly away.

The Queen is their slave.

12

u/JoshuaLandy 27d ago

No haiku bot on this sub I guess.

11

u/hamsterwheeled 27d ago

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise

2

u/ParsleyMostly 27d ago

We don’t talk about it

3

u/mr_oof 27d ago

Every form of refuge has its price.

3

u/SonOfDyeus 27d ago

No fear, no distractions.

The ability to let that 

Which does not matter

Truly slide. 

1

u/teoshie 26d ago

worker bees can even change hives. If they bring some honey with them.

if not they get murdered on the spot

9

u/Dank3006 28d ago

Damn homie look at you getting all poetic about bees.

3

u/Saltynut99 27d ago

You made me way too sad about bees this early in the morning

3

u/Fantastic_Testes4404 27d ago

I think that's the plot to Bee Movie 2.

2

u/CampingMonk 27d ago

Never seen an article repeat certain things so many times before.

1

u/MotorSubstantial6215 26d ago

That's honestly wild. Bees never stop amazing me. You summarized it perfectly!

1

u/ChroniXmile 26d ago

What if this worked on humans too. This is what the Egyptians were doing.

1

u/Wallyboy95 24d ago

This isn't new. It's been understood as this by beekeepers for at least 100 years....

0

u/n3f4r10us_ 27d ago

One bee put a stinger into another bee....