Overview
A queen goes through the usual honey bee stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Her development is faster than a worker’s, and her adult life is much longer. The numbers below are approximate and can vary with temperature and colony conditions.
Egg and larva
A queen begins as a fertilized egg laid by another queen. After about three days it hatches into a larva. Workers feed the larva royal jelly, and the cell is a larger, vertical queen cell. Details are in how a queen bee is born. By about day 8 the workers cap the cell.
Pupa and emergence
Inside the capped cell the larva spins a cocoon and changes into a pupa, then an adult. The new queen typically emerges around day 16 from egg laying, a few days before a worker laid on the same day would. She chews her way out of the cell cap.
Virgin queen and mating flights
A newly emerged queen is a virgin. She may produce piping sounds and may seek out rival queens still in cells. In a colony that is not casting a swarm, the first queen to emerge often eliminates others. After several days she begins orientation and mating flights, usually in good weather and in the afternoon. She mates in the air with multiple drones, often a dozen or more, from other colonies. She stores sperm in the spermatheca. Weather, a lack of drones or predators can prevent successful mating. To confirm she succeeded, see how to tell if a queen has mated.
How many times does a queen mate? Most mating happens in a short window early in her life, with several matings across one or a few flights, rather than being repeated year after year.
Laying years
Some days after mating she starts laying, and she then stays in the hive except if the colony swarms. Her output typically rises through spring and falls in autumn. Many queens lay well for a year or two, and some longer. See the job of the queen bee for what she does day to day.
Aging and supersedure
As she ages, her egg laying or pheromone output may fall. Workers may then raise a replacement in a process called supersedure, and for a short time a mother and daughter can both be in the hive. Many beekeepers choose to replace queens on a schedule (tracked with queen marking colors) rather than waiting for failure, and practices vary by region and goals.
End of life
Typical queens live for a few years, with reports of up to about five. Lifespan depends on genetics, nutrition, disease, pesticide exposure and colony management. A queen may be lost because of swarming, injury, replacement or disease. If you suspect she is missing, see how to tell a queen from a worker and what to look for during inspections.
Common questions
Do queen bees have stingers? Yes, a smooth one that can sting more than once, rarely used on people. See queen anatomy.
Do bees return to the same nest every year? A colony can persist for years (see how long a hive lasts) if it survives winter and keeps a queen, but swarms leave to find new homes.
How does she compare with workers? Read queen bee vs normal bee. Overview: the honey bee queen.