The term
queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult, mated female that lives in a
honey bee colony or
hive; she is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. The
queens are developed from
larvae selected by
worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature. There is normally only one adult, mated queen in a hive, in which case the bees will usually follow and fiercely protect her.