before becoming queen of the hive, a newly emerged queen-to-be sets off on her mating flight. She flies at least one mile from where she was born to mate with multiple males. upon returning, she’s crowned queen and begins laying her fertilized eggs. a wild queen can live to be 7 years old and she’s born with all the eggs she’ll ever lay.

these girls do ALL of the work in a hive. they build the honey comb, they feed the babies, they collect the nectar and pollen, they cure the honey, and they defend the hive.

these are the males of the hive. they’re much larger than the worker-girls, they have no stinger and their sole function is to fly around each day looking for queens to mate with. these guys can’t even feed themselves.