In this article, we will look at what the queen bee eats. We will answer the question whether she eats honey or not.
What the queen bee eats in warm climates?
We know that bees feed the larva of the queen with royal jelly. After the queen is born, the worker bees continue to feed her with royal jelly.
The royal jelly is the secretion of the bee glands, which the bees use to feed their worker larvae. It is believed that this miracle substance has various beneficial properties – it makes people healthy, beautiful and active.
In warm countries, the hives are warm and the bees’ metabolic processes are active. They move quietly between frames, eat honey and share it with each other. They feed the queen with royal jelly.
When research was carried out in France, no pollen grains were found in the intestines of the queen bee. Therefore, it was concluded that the queen is constantly fed with royal jelly both in winter and summer.
What the queen bee feeds on during the cold season?
But this is not the case in countries with cold climates. Bees shrink into a club during the cold winter to conserve heat. Individuals even climb inside the cells of the honeycomb. The temperature inside the club is maintained at +24 °C, but at the edges it can drop to +10 °C. The bees move from the edges of the club to the centre and back again. In this way they give each other a chance to warm up.
Bees need to feed to keep warm. First they eat the uncapped honey at the bottom of the frames. Then they move upwards. Then they turn towards the back of the hive.
A bee eats 10 mg of honey per day. This is enough for 24 hours. This economy is possible when all life processes are slowed down. If you look into the hive in winter, you can see that the bees are very sleepy, moving very slowly.
The fact that bees in cold climates do not exchange forage in winter has been proven by research. Scientists put a frame of honey with radioisotopes in it. And that honey didn’t spread anywhere in the hive. As the weather got warmer, that honey spread throughout the hive.
This is why bees in cold climates do not feed the queen in winter. She switches to feeding herself with honey. Because she is no longer fed with royal jelly, she becomes skinny. This can be seen visually at the end of winter.
The importance of honey in the hive for queen survival
It is very important for the queen to have honey in the hive during the cold season. She herself cannot open the honeycomb cells that cover the honey. Also she can’t dissolve honey crystals very well. So if the honey crystallises, it can kill the queen bee in winter.
The bees will not move to cold honey. Neither will the queen bee. Therefore, it is important to provide a passage between frames so that the bees keep warm on all frames.
If the honey is fermented and spoilt, this can also lead to the death of the queen bee.
Conclusion
In countries with warm climates and warm winters, all metabolic processes in bees are active. Therefore, the queen feeds on royal jelly.
In countries with cold climates, bees reduce their activity in winter to save vitality and energy. They stop feeding the queen with royal jelly. Therefore, the queen bee eats honey on her own.
