Yes. When the colony is queenless or the queen is failing the workers will choose a larvae and begin to feed it royal jelly. The eating of this jelly and this along is the only thing that determines if a female is a queen or not. Genetically the queen and worker are exactly the same, it’s only the nutrition that changes their role.
I’m a little rusty on my bee knowledge, but isn’t one of the bees converted into a queen by some sort of hormonal or pheromone process?
Yes. When the colony is queenless or the queen is failing the workers will choose a larvae and begin to feed it royal jelly. The eating of this jelly and this along is the only thing that determines if a female is a queen or not. Genetically the queen and worker are exactly the same, it’s only the nutrition that changes their role.
Thanks. I used to get raw unfinished ones and paint them. These are wax dipped. Waterproof and supposedly healthier for the hive.