The Self-Preserving Reason Queen Bees Take Small Breaks

In chess, the queen is the most valuable piece for a player. She’s capable of making any move, which also makes her the most protected after the king. In a bee colony, the queen holds the same rank. She plays the role of a worker bee, mother, and a leader. Without her, there is no hive, no honey, and no future generations. It was previously thought that queen bees took no breaks to ensure the survival of the species, but a new study is challenging that notion. Instead, scientists now believe it’s the opposite, and that queen bees take breaks so that they survive.

Bumblebee Queens Are the Center of Everything

The University of California, Riverside, has revealed in a new study that bumblebee queens are less active than previously thought. After overwintering, bumblebee queens lay the first brood of eggs. This follows a natural cycle as the queen builds her colony. Bees hatching in early spring become worker bees, which are the foundation for the colony. In midsummer, the queen lays more eggs, which eventually develop into new queens, called gynes, and drone bees. These flee the nest in the fall to mate and begin overwintering.

The early summer period is crucial. This is when the colony experiences the most growth, and it falls to the queen to ensure that it continues to do so. Once the worker bees mature, they assume the majority of the queen’s duties, including defending the nest and foraging for food. At this point, the queen’s only role is to continue reproducing and caring for her brood. This is also where scientists are seeing the most significant change in bee behavior. Where it was presumed the queen routinely lays eggs, we now know that she takes frequent breaks. Not only does this affect the species, but it also reveals details of how the queen prioritizes her well-being.

Bumblebee Queens Take Breaks During Reproduction

“I saw these pauses early on, just by taking daily photos of the nests. It wasn’t something I expected. I wanted to know what was happening during those breaks,” Blanca Peto told Science Daily. As a doctoral student in entomology at UC Riverside and the lead author of the new study, she recognized the significance of these breaks. The result was an experiment involving the observation of 100 queens over a period of 45 days. What scientists discovered caused a drastic change in the way we previously thought of bumblebee queens. Rather than laying eggs continuously, each of the queens took several days to rest following egg-laying. Peto also noticed this occurred after particularly intense stretches of egg-laying.

Recognizing a pattern, Peto took the experiment further. According to Science Daily, queens were taking breaks that correlated with the developmental stages of their broods. This pattern theory was confirmed when queens timed their breaks according to larvae of various stages, as well as pupae. On average, this was the resulting rest schedule:

• Presence of pupae (mature bees): Reproduction began again after a day and a half.
• Presence of larvae (young bees): Rest spanned roughly 12 and a half days.

This variation in the bumblebee’s reproduction reveals details of their timeline that we never knew. Queen bees only continue to reproduce after their first brood has matured. This signifies a closeness with queens and their eggs, which is integral for timing and survival. Rather than reproducing endlessly, it seems that queen bees take advantage of the growth period between the larval and pupal stages.

A Human-Like Understanding

Much like humans, bees can burn out if they work too hard, too quickly. The study on queen bumblebees further confirms that we are not the only species needing rest. While “couch rot” is trending on TikTok as a way for people to avoid burnout, it appears that bumblebees share a similar desire to rest. “This matters because those early days are incredibly vulnerable. If a queen pushes too hard, too fast, the whole colony might not survive,” Peto told ScienceDaily. Not only is it imperative that the queen restores her strengths, but her survival is also paramount to the success of the hive.

The study suggests that this behavior could have implications for other bee species. If this is the case, it could be a revolutionary discovery regarding the survival of bees. Scientists believe this pacing allows the queen to remain with all her broods until they’re mature. This means she’s around to raise the workforce, as well as future generations. Peto explains that this evolutionary move remains the same in captivity as it is in the wild. It serves as evidence that queen bumblebees instinctively take rest. In short, queen bumblebees teach us lessons that apply even at the human level: Rest ensures survival.