How To Identify A Queen Bee

Every group needs and has a leader. It is the same with beehives. Every hive has its queen, which is the leader of the hive. The queen bee acts as a mother to almost every bee in the hive. The importance of the presence of a queen bee is very important. If the queen bee dies or is sick, the health of the group is also adversely affected. If such a certain situation arises, then the group comes under an immediate need of a new queen bee. How can you identify the queen bee of the hive, though? Mentioned below are the steps.

 Using the Power of Sight

·        The queen bee will usually be the largest amongst the group. There can be situations where the drones of the hive are bigger than the queen bee, but the queen bee will be much thicker or narrower in shape and size.

·        Queen bees have a pointed abdomen, which is situated in the lower part of the bees’ body. Normal or the honeybees will have a blunt abdomen. So it becomes quite convenient to identify the queen bee.

·        Queen bees also tend to stand with their legs a little apart. Honeybees or drones usually have their legs directly under their bodies, so you won’t be able to see their legs watching them from an upright angle, but you will be able to see the queen bee’s legs splayed apart from her body.

·        Since there is only one queen per hive, you don’t have to worry about the similarities between the queen bee and the honey bees of the group. Queen bees have a stinger which does not have any barbs and are just straight and smooth. The honey bees have a bit sturdy and barbed stingers.

Look in the Right Place

·        Firstly, you will have to locate where the larvae are. For that, you will have to remove each frame from the hive. Larvae look like small white grubs and are usually in piles next to each other. The queen bee lays all the eggs, which is the reason why she may be nearby the larvae.

·        There are also hidden places in the hive where the queen bee could be. It is quite obvious that the queen bee won’t be sitting or hanging in the outer parts of the hive. The queen bee is usually in the deep part of the hive. If the hive is in a vertical box, then the queen bee will be in the bottom frames of the hive. But if the box is horizontal, then the queen bee will be usually in the center frames.

·        Whenever queen bee moves, there is unusual movement inside the hive. So if you see some of the bees clustering together or larvae nearby them, then the queen bee is nearby.

Follow these above mentioned steps to find out the queen bee as she is the most important part of your beehive.