Worker bees have power to pick their queen
A recent study reveals that worker bees play a crucial role in selecting future queen bees in bumblebee colonies. This selection process is influenced by the juvenile hormone, which the workers pass to larvae through feeding. The findings suggest a more decentralized colony structure, challenging previous notions of a strict hierarchy.
- ▪Worker bees can influence which larvae become queens by feeding them juvenile hormone.
- ▪The study shows that the more juvenile hormone larvae receive, the more likely they are to develop into queens.
- ▪This research shifts the understanding of bee colony dynamics from a top-down hierarchy to a more collaborative system.
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Worker bees can alter the future of the colony’s larvae. Image: Shutterstock Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Email address Sign up Thank you! Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. While every bumble bee colony has a queen, the process for becoming that queen bee may be a bit more democratic than monarchical. The worker bees appear to select which baby will be queen one day, according to a new study published in the journal Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The key to this selection process lies in the juvenile hormone. This hormone in insects is responsible for their development, molting, and eventual reproduction.
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