- After mating, queen activates her ovaries and initiates egg-laying (about 1500 eggs per day)
- No longer photoactic
- Won’t fly unless colony swarms
- Changes in pheremone profiles
- Large changes in gene expression
Not all changes are visible with the naked eye. Pheromone profiles change, ovaries activate, no longer phototactic – all regulated by gene expressions. Genes lead to production of various proteins that cause changes on an organismal level that are then visible to the beekeeper (ie; queen behavior, pheromone production, etc) There are 10 -13 thousand genes in the HB genome. At least 2000 genes are changed after the queen is mated. Genes regulate specific physiological changes.