Apis Cerana - Worker Sterility and Queen Signaling

Worker Sterility and Queen Signaling

Honeybee Workers are infertile females and possibility of their reproduction is extremely limited. Their fertility is controlled by queen signals. The Queen honeybee informs workers of her presence by pheromones that queens secrete from their mandibular glands. These signals are acquired by workers in close vicinity of the queen and then spread to other works in the colony mainly by body contacts. In presence of queen pheromone signals, the vast majority of workers refrain from activating their ovaries. In the absence of queen bee at least 5% of the worker bees activate their ovaries and start laying eggs, this leads to multiple eggs in one cell. When this occurs, other workers will attempt to remove the eggs, a phenomenon known as worker policing.