The queen: her role, queen cells, and spotting a queenless colony

The queen determines whether a colony lives or fades, and she is also the hardest thing to see. Fortunately you never need to see her to know whether she is there.

How a stingless bee queen differs

She is noticeably larger than the workers with a swollen abdomen. Unlike honey bees, stingless bee colonies often keep several unmated virgin queens in reserve inside the nest. That is why they tolerate the loss of a queen considerably better than honey bees do.

What queen cells are

Cells noticeably larger than the surrounding brood cells, usually at the edge of the brood mass. The colony builds them when preparing to split or when the existing queen is ageing. Several queen cells is a sign of a healthy colony approaching the point where it can be split.

Three signs the queen is present

• The brood contains larvae at several stages, with fresh layers appearing.
• Foragers return steadily with pollen — pollen means larvae to feed.
• The colony is stable, holding or growing in numbers month to month.

With all three, there is no need to find the queen, and no reason to dig through the nest looking for her.

Signs the colony is queenless

The brood contracts and then stops producing new layers, pollen traffic thins markedly, numbers fall week by week, and activity at the entrance becomes listless. Left for a few months without a new queen, the colony fades.

Rescuing a queenless colony

The most reliable method is to transfer a piece of brood containing a queen cell from a strong colony. The bees will rear it and produce a new queen. If the colony is already very weak, merging it into another is the more sensible option.

Frequently asked

How long does a stingless bee queen live?

Several years, far longer than a worker. Colonies replace an ageing queen themselves, usually without the keeper knowing.

Can queens be bought separately?

Rarely, and it is not the normal practice. With stingless bees, keepers transfer brood containing queen cells instead.

Is searching for the queen harmful?

Yes. Digging through the nest breaks structure and alarms the colony. The three indirect signs above are enough.