It’s Not Everyday You Get To See a Queen

What is it that is so fascinating about seeing the queen bee? It's a thrilling thing to see her crawling across a frame. Her thin amber-colored body moves so swiftly and so efficiently, it's a rarity to easily spot her. She's often surrounded by a circle of worker bee caretakers, tending to her food, water, temperature needs. She's very elusive, and so when you spot her, it's definitely intoxicating.

A lot of people think that the queen controls the hive, when in reality, the worker bees can replace her anytime they get a whim to. If they sense that she is not laying eggs like she should, if they don't like her laying pattern, or they think that she is getting old, they will create a new queen. There's one queen per hive that gives of her life in service to all the others! Daily, she lays 2,000 to 3000 eggs to ensure the livelihood of the colony. Maybe part of the thrill of seeing the queen also relates to witnessing such as self-sacrificing being.