USURPER!

Being a Queen Bee can be a Game of Thrones. Not only can bees spontaneously dump their aging Queens for younger more productive heirs, and embark upon colonial ventures by swarming, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that many thrones are actually won by violence!

In order to increase their survival chances, so called “USURPTION SWARMS” probe the defences and stability of established, and often much larger, bee colonies. If they conclude that the current Queen is failing or weak, they may simply decide to gamble everything upon seizing that colony by force.

Intruders may overwhelm a weak colony’s defenders in a surprise assault, the old Queen may be quickly dispatched and the young usurper, installed in her place. A loyal Queen guard/retinue will then need to protect the bridge-head and their new monarch for several hours until her pheromones begin to disperse throughout the colony. Only once the new Queen’s individual chemistry has surplanted that of her predecessor will she gain acceptance from the populace. At this point, her position and line will be secured. If these descriptions sound a tad anthropomorphic, the parallels at pretty obvious and the stakes the same.

When you play the Game of Thrones as a bee or a human, you win or you die.

Interestingly, American researcher Wyatt A. Mangum, (who has spent years researching the usurption tactic), is convinced that conquest and replacement actually happens far more often than Beekeepers think and because of this we misinterpret the signs