{"id":11881,"date":"2026-06-03T17:31:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=11881"},"modified":"2026-06-03T17:31:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:31:41","slug":"a-diet-of-royal-jelly-isnt-the-only-thing-that-makes-a-queen-bee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=11881","title":{"rendered":"A diet of royal jelly isn\u2019t the only thing that makes a queen bee"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Scientists have identified a group of worker honeybees that are specially adapted to build their queen\u2019s waxy abode within the hive.<\/p>

Read more How Taqueria Hoy became an Orange County taco institution<\/a><\/p>\n

Worker bees perform a myriad of jobs to keep up the hive, including collecting food, nurturing young bees and caring for the queen, who lays all the eggs. New research reveals that the honeybees responsible for crafting the queen\u2019s home effectively run a fever to help melt and blend special chemicals into the wax.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one had ever thought that there might be a specialized group of workers that were building these queen cells,\u201d said bee researcher Julia Bowsher with North Dakota State University, who had no role in the study.<\/p>\n

These newly identified bees were younger and also had patterns of expression in their genes that made them uniquely suited to the task. The resulting peanut-shaped home was also distinct in its makeup, as it was made of softer wax with a higher melting point than the kind used to build worker bees\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n

Queens are raised eating royal jelly secreted from the glands of worker bees and scientists have long believed diet was the main key to making a monarch. The new findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, suggest that the queen\u2019s environment might also play a role.<\/p>\n