- Larger than workers
- Sole reproductive female
- Lays 1000-1500 eggs each day
- Lifespan: 1-5 years
- Emerge after 16 days
- Virgin queens and workers will search and kill or cull additional capped queen cells
- If multiple virgins emerge simultaneously then queen “duels” ensue
- A single virgin queen will survive and mate generally within a week
- Queens mate with multiple drones (avg. 12-14), mated sign
- Should start egg-laying within a week of being mated
- Non-barbed stinger
- Mate and reproduce
- Ovarioles (~150 each ovary)
- Produce pheromones
- Spermatheca