queen substance

noun

1. a pheromone secreted from the mandibular glands of a queen honeybee and smelled, eaten, and absorbed by the worker bees, having the effect of preventing them from producing or rearing rival queens.

queen substance

noun

1. a pheromone secreted by queen honeybees and consumed by the workers, in whom it causes suppression of egg-laying

Word History and Origins

Origin of queen substance¹

First recorded in 1950–55