A diet of royal jelly isn’t the only thing that makes a queen bee

A diet of royal jelly isn’t the only thing that makes a queen bee 1 of 3 | A hive of honeybees on display at the Vermont Beekeeping Supply booth at the annual Vermont Farm Show at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, Vt., Jan. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Duback, File) 2 of 3 | This 2021 image provided by Kai Wang shows various honeybees. (Kai Wang via AP) 3 of 3 | Honeybees fill a hive at Golden Angels Apiary in Singers Glen, Va., March 30, 2012. (Michael Reilly/Daily News-Record via AP, File) 1 of 3 | A hive of honeybees on display at the Vermont Beekeeping Supply booth at the annual Vermont Farm Show at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, Vt., Jan. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Duback, File) 1 of 3 A hive of honeybees on display at the Vermont Beekeeping Supply booth at the annual Vermont Farm Show at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, Vt., Jan. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Andy Duback, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 3 | This 2021 image provided by Kai Wang shows various honeybees. (Kai Wang via AP) 2 of 3 This 2021 image provided by Kai Wang shows various honeybees. (Kai Wang via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 3 | Honeybees fill a hive at Golden Angels Apiary in Singers Glen, Va., March 30, 2012. (Michael Reilly/Daily News-Record via AP, File) 3 of 3 Honeybees fill a hive at Golden Angels Apiary in Singers Glen, Va., March 30, 2012. (Michael Reilly/Daily News-Record via AP, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have identified a group of worker honeybees that are specially adapted to build their queen’s waxy abode within the hive.Worker bees perform a myriad of jobs to keep up the hive, including collecting food, nurturing young bees and caring for the queen, who lays all the eggs. New research reveals that the honeybees responsible for crafting the queen’s home effectively run a fever to help melt and blend special chemicals into the wax.“No one had ever thought that there might be a specialized group of workers that were building these queen cells,” said bee researcher Julia Bowsher with North Dakota State University, who had no role in the study.These newly identified bees were younger and also had patterns of expression in their genes that made them uniquely suited to the task. The resulting peanut-shaped home was also distinct in its makeup, as it was made of softer wax with a higher melting point than the kind used to build worker bees’ homes. Queens are raised eating royal jelly secreted from the glands of worker bees and scientists have long believed diet was the main key to making a monarch. The new findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, suggest that the queen’s environment might also play a role.