<P> The term "queen bee" is typically used to refer to an adult, mated female that lives in a honey bee colony or hive; she is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive . The queens are developed from larvae selected by worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature . There is normally only one adult, mated queen in a hive, in which case the bees will usually follow and fiercely protect her . </P> <P> The term "queen bee" can be more generally applied to any dominant reproductive female in a colony of a eusocial bee species other than honey bees . However, as in the Brazilian stingless bee Schwarziana quadripunctata, a single nest may have multiple queens or even dwarf queens, ready to replace a dominant queen in a case of sudden death . </P> <P> When conditions are favorable for swarming, the queen will start laying eggs in queen cups . A virgin queen will develop from a fertilized egg . The young queen larva develops differently because it is more heavily fed royal jelly, a protein - rich secretion from glands on the heads of young workers . If not for being heavily fed royal jelly, the queen larva would have developed into a regular worker bee . All bee larvae are fed some royal jelly for the first few days after hatching but only queen larvae are fed on it exclusively . As a result of the difference in diet, the queen will develop into a sexually mature female, unlike the worker bees . </P> <P> Queens are raised in specially constructed queen cells . The fully constructed queen cells have a peanut - like shape and texture . Queen cells start out as queen cups . Queen cups are larger than the cells of normal brood comb and are oriented vertically instead of horizontally . Worker bees will only further build up the queen cup once the queen has laid an egg in a queen cup . In general, the old queen starts laying eggs into queen cups when conditions are right for swarming or supersedure . Swarm cells hang from the bottom of a frame while supersedure queens or emergency queens are generally raised in cells built out from the face of a frame . </P>

When does the queen bee start laying eggs