Bees exist as both female and male members, but their sex is uniquely tied to their function and the social structure of the colony. The vast majority of individuals seen working outside the hive are female, while the males, known as drones, have a singular, specialized role. This division of labor is foundational to the complex organization of the bee colony.
How Bee Sex is Determined
The determination of a bee’s sex is governed by haplodiploidy, a biological system uncommon among most animals. This system dictates that females develop from fertilized eggs, while males develop from unfertilized eggs.
Females are diploid, possessing two sets of chromosomes (32 total), one from the mother and one from the father. Males, or drones, are haploid, possessing only a single set of 16 chromosomes inherited solely from their mother, the queen. The queen bee controls the sex of her offspring at the moment of laying the egg. She chooses to release stored sperm to fertilize an egg, resulting in a female, or withhold it, resulting in a male.
The Roles of Female Bees
Female bees constitute the overwhelming majority of the colony and are divided into two distinct castes: the Queen and the Workers. The Queen is the only fully fertile female and serves as the reproductive center of the hive, laying all the eggs. During peak season, a Queen can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day, a process she repeats for her entire lifespan, which can last several years.
The Queen
Beyond reproduction, the Queen regulates the behavior of the entire colony through the release of pheromones. These chemical signals communicate her presence and health, keeping the worker bees cohesive.
Worker Bees
Worker bees are sterile females who perform all the labor necessary for the hive’s survival. They are morphologically distinct from the Queen, possessing specialized anatomy like pollen baskets on their hind legs and a barbed stinger for defense. The worker bee’s life is a progression of age-dependent tasks, beginning with cleaning the hive and nursing the young larvae. As they mature, they transition to jobs like building wax honeycomb, ventilating the hive, and guarding the entrance. Their final role is foraging, where they collect nectar, pollen, water, and tree sap, a demanding job that often shortens their lifespan to only a few weeks during the active summer season.
The Roles of Male Bees
Male bees, or drones, are substantially different from their female counterparts in both anatomy and purpose. Their sole function is to mate with a new Queen from a different colony to ensure genetic diversity. Drones are larger than worker bees, have a stouter body, and possess disproportionately large compound eyes that aid in spotting a Queen during mating flights.
Drones lack a stinger and cannot defend the hive. They also do not possess the anatomical structures needed to collect pollen or nectar, making them incapable of feeding themselves without assistance from worker bees. Drones spend their days waiting in specific aerial locations called drone congregation areas for a virgin Queen to fly through. Mating occurs mid-flight and is fatal for the drone, as his reproductive organ is torn from his body immediately afterward. Drones that do not successfully mate are maintained during warm months but are expelled from the hive in the fall. Worker bees force them out to perish outside because they cannot contribute to the colony’s winter survival.