Queen cell (centre) on brood comb in a European honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony. Capped brood cells containing worker larvae are present to the left. A honey bee colony has one fertile queen. If she dies, departs the colony during swarming, or if her egg-laying becomes sub-optimal, the colony will select one or more of her daughter larvae to replace her. A selected larva is fed more royal jelly and grows larger than the other larvae (which develop into workers), and the worker bees build a large queen cell to accommodate her development. She emerges from the cell in adult form, and may kill other virgin queens developing in the colony. If she survives, she will mate and begin laying eggs, thus continuing the life cycle of the colony.