How Long Do Queen Bees Live?

There are a number of species of social bees with colonies dependent on a queen. The most ubiquitous and well known of these is the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), from which most commercial honey is harvested. A western honeybee queen can live up to five years—a remarkable lifespan given that the workers typically live only about six weeks during the active season. The queen is responsible for laying thousands of eggs and maintaining the colony’s population, so her longevity is crucial for the stability and continuity of the hive. In managed hives, beekeepers generally replace the queen every year or two to ensure a high level of productivity.

Most bumblebees (Bombus) are also social insects with a queen. Unlike honeybees, their queens typically only live about a year. A queen bumblebee mates in the fall, overwinters, and then lays eggs to form a new colony, including female workers, male drones, and future queens. At maturity, the new queens mate with the drones and leave the dying colony to overwinter alone.

Another group of social bees are the more than 600 species of stingless bees (tribe Meliponini). The group has considerable diversity, and stingless bee queens generally outlive their workers by two or more years.