A Diet of Royal Jelly Isn’t the only Thing that Makes a Queen Bee
Researchers found queen wax cells, not royal jelly alone, help shape future queens, and worker-wax cups produced smaller bees with lower survival.
- On Wednesday, new research published in Nature challenges the long-held belief that diet alone dictates how honeybees develop, showing the surrounding wax environment plays a crucial role in shaping queens.
- Specially adapted worker bees, or 'royal nurses,' construct 'royal cribs' by running hotter and exhibiting distinct gene activity to modify the wax, making it softer and chemically unique.
- Scientists tested this by raising larvae on royal jelly for four days, then replacing cell caps with queen or worker wax; those in worker wax were smaller and survived less effectively.
- Kai Wang, a co-author with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said the study rewrites the rule 'you are what you eat' to also say 'you are where you live, too.'
- Thomas Seeley of Cornell University calls the discovery 'very cool and thought-provoking,' though Julia Bowsher of North Dakota State University says further research is needed to identify specific active ingredients in the wax.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Associated Press News
A diet of royal jelly isn't the only thing that makes a queen bee
NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have identified a group of worker honeybees that are specially adapted to build their queen's waxy abode within the hive.
How honeybees really crown their queens
For generations, scientists believed a queen honeybee was made almost entirely by diet: feed an ordinary larva enough royal jelly and a ruler emerges. But new research suggests queens are created through a more elaborate process.
The Columbian
A diet of royal jelly isn’t the only thing that makes a queen bee
NEW YORK — Scientists have identified a group of worker honeybees that are specially adapted to build their queen’s waxy abode within the hive. Read more...
What a royal bedchamber provides the queen bee
When considering what shapes animal development, factors such as genetics come to mind. For a queen bee, however, her special wax home also has a role. When considering what shapes animal development, factors such as genetics come to mind. For a queen bee, however, her special wax home also has a role.
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