Queen honeybee with workers
A queen honeybee in a healthy beehive looks for empty cells in which to lay eggs. Worker bees surround her and tend to her. The queen has a longer abdomen, and the physical and behavioral differences between the queen and the workers are due to epigenetics (, although the queen and workers have essentially the same DNA, their differences are due to differences in the way their DNA is expressed). Several workers are touching the queen with their antennae; in this way, they simultaneously assess her needs and pick up a scent (pheromone) that they will pass around the hive, ensuring the other workers that the queen is present and in good condition. To the right of the queen's head, an adult male (drone) is chewing its way out of its pupal cell.
Size: 3456px × 5184px
Location: Haydenville, Massachusetts, United States, , USA
Photo credit: © Custom Life Science Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, animals, apidae, apis, arthropod, arthropods, bee, beehive, beekeeping, bees, cells, close, close-, comb, epigenetics, haplodiploid, haplodiploidy, hive, honey, honeybee, honeybees, hymenoptera, hymenopteran, hymenopterans, insect, insects, invertebrate, invertebrates, islc, keeping, macro, mellifera, phenotype, queen, social, worker, workers
