How do you tell the difference from a bee to the queen bee besides it's size?

Answer 1

The most obvious way of identifying a queen in most bee species is by her size. She will be larger than the other members of the colony. Bees do not grow after they emerge from the pupal cell, so this size difference remains constant.

In honey bees, the queen's abdomen is longer, slightly wider and more pointed at the end than that of a worker. A drone is also larger than a worker, but its abdomen is more stubby, with a squarer end. To give some idea of the differences, a queen's body length will be between 15 and 19 millimetres; a worker 13 to 17 mm; and a drone 15 to 18 mm.

As can be seen, the difference is not great, so finding one queen among many thousands of workers can be difficult. For this reason, beekeepers often mark the queen's thorax with a light-coloured spot to make her more visible.

Answer 2

The anatomy of a queen ant is very similar to other ants of that particular species, however, they noticeably are larger than the rest of the ants in the colony. As with other ants, queens have a hard outer covering called the exoskeleton, and their bodies are divided into three main sections: the head, thorax and abdomen. They have a pair of jointed antennae that can be extended forward when investigating an object. Unlike other ants, however, young queens have a pair of wings. These are only used for the nuptial flight, and are later detached either by the queen herself or chewed off by her worker ants.

Answer 3

Worker bees spend the first three weeks of their life working in the hive. From about the eighteenth day, when their venom gland is fully developed, they will start to guard the hive entrance, stopping unwanted intruders. They often stand at the hive entrance in a characteristic pose with their front legs raised and antennae forward. Starting at around this time they will start making short flights around the hive and its immediate area to learn its location. When they are about 21 days old they will begin going out to forage for nectar, pollen, propolis or water. Once they start this they become foragers for the rest of their lives (about another three weeks).

You will probably never see a queen unless you are there when a hive is opened because she never leaves the hive after returning from her mating flight, unless it is with a swarm. However, a queen is larger: her abdomen is about half as long again as that of a worker.