A queen bee is primarily killed by worker bees when they decide to replace her, most commonly through a process called "balling."
Balling the Queen
When worker bees decide that the current queen is failing, old, diseased, or that a new queen is ready to take her place (such as when a new queen emerges from a queen cell), they may kill her. This is most often done by:
- Clustering Around Her: The worker bees form a tight ball around the queen.
- Raising Her Body Temperature: Inside the ball, the bees vibrate their bodies, raising the queen's temperature until she overheats and dies. This essentially suffocates and overheats the queen.
- Stinging: While less common than overheating, the worker bees may also sting the queen within the ball, contributing to her demise.
Reasons for Queen Replacement
Several factors can lead worker bees to decide to replace their queen:
- Old Age: An aging queen may not be able to lay eggs efficiently, leading to a decline in the hive population.
- Disease or Weakness: A sick or injured queen is less effective at producing pheromones and laying eggs.
- Supersedure: The hive naturally chooses to replace an aging or underperforming queen.
- Swarming: A new queen may emerge when a colony becomes too large and prepares to swarm; the old queen leaves with a portion of the hive, and the new queen takes over the original colony. In some cases, multiple potential queens can emerge, and bees will kill off all but one.
- Failed Mating: If a queen doesn't mate successfully or runs out of stored sperm, she becomes a drone layer (only laying unfertilized eggs, which become drones). The workers will usually kill a drone-laying queen.
Preventing Unnecessary Queen Death
Beekeepers can sometimes prevent the unnecessary death of a queen by:
- Regular Hive Inspections: Identifying problems early can allow for intervention, such as requeening the hive.
- Providing Adequate Resources: Ensuring the hive has enough food and space can reduce stress on the queen and the colony.
- Introducing a New Queen Themselves: Beekeepers can proactively replace an aging or poorly performing queen.
