For generations, scientists believed a queen honeybee was made almost entirely by diet: feed an ordinary larva enough royal jelly and a ruler emerges. But new research suggests queens are created through a more elaborate process.

For decades, scientists thought royal jelly was the secret ingredient that turned an ordinary honeybee larva into a queen. New research reveals the process is far more remarkable:…

When considering what shapes animal development, factors such as genetics come to mind. For a queen bee, however, her special wax home also has a role.