Worker bees build a ‘royal palace’ for the honeybee queen

Honeybee queens come from the same ordinary fertilized female eggs as worker bees. So how does one bee become a queen – with the responsibility of serving as the ​colony’s only baby maker – rather than just another worker? Until now, scientists believed it was solely because the chosen bee was served a special diet.

New research ‌indicates that another critical factor is at play – the nature of the wax chamber built for her by the cadre of all-female worker bees. While these workers provide...