Why Hives Turn Against Their Queens

Why Hives Turn Against Their Queens

From MinuteEarth by Minute Earth

April 6, 2026 · 4 min

About this episode

This episode explores the reasons why hives may turn against their queens, focusing on genetic and social structures within honeybee colonies.

To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords: Haplodiploidy: is a sex-determination system in which males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, and females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid. Sex determination in honeybees: In honeybees, the drones (males) are entirely derived from the queen, their mother. The diploid queen has 32 chromosomes and the haploid drones have 16 chromosomes. Drones produce sperm cells that contain their entire genome, so the sperm are all genetically identical except for mutations. Eusocial: showing an advanced level of social organization, in which a single female or caste produces offspring and nonreproductive individuals cooperate in caring for the young. Fertilize: cause (an egg, female animal, or plant) to develop a new individual by introducing male reproductive material. Genetics: the study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics. Queen Bee: the single reproductive female in a hive or colony of honeybees. Sterile: not able to produce children or young. MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC…

People in this episode

Host: MinuteEarth

Topics covered

  • honeybees
  • eusocial behavior
  • genetics
  • sex determination
  • hive dynamics

Keywords

  • Haplodiploidy
  • sex determination
  • honeybees
  • Eusocial
  • Queen Bee
  • genetics
  • drones

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Neptune Studios LLC

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