How is a queen bee chosen?

PEOPLE HAVE LONG PEERED INTO beehives and seen a model for human society. There is much to admire the work ethic, the cooperation, the selflessness. But a hive could equally be seen as a product of a repressive class system, even a tyranny. Because some bees are more equal than others.

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By any standard, bees are unusual animals. The vast majority of hive members - female workers - will never produce their own offspring. Instead, they work tirelessly to help another female - the queen - produce hers. The system only works because the queen is usually the workers' mother (or close relative), which means that the workers' genes are still handed down, if via a more circuitous route. Meanwhile, the division of labour between reproductive and physical duties makes the production line more efficient.