How to Prepare to Take A New Territory: A Beehive Masterclass

Go to the ant, O lazy one; Observe her ways and be wise – Proverbs 6:6

I’m getting excited about this Beehive Masterclass, as there is a lot of wisdom to learn from the ants, and it’s looking good that we are starting from Bees, I can’t wait for one of my very specials – termites. But there is so much to unpack with bees that I foresee this will be very enlightening and very empowering.

The bees are masters at taking new territories. They don’t just go and perch somewhere, they are very intentional and put a lot of preparation into taking new territory. They “Japa” strategically!

Evaluation

The first thing that happens is evaluation. The bees evaluate quite regularly so they are able to notice when things are not going according to plan. They know when a hive becomes overcrowded or conditions within the hive, such as limited space or resources, become unfavorable, the queen bee initiates the swarming process.

Leadership development

The queen bee reads this report and immediately begins the process of developing a new leader for the new territory. This process starts with grooming a number of potential leaders but ends with a competitive process where the fittest survive. She senses the need for a new home and begins laying eggs in special cells known as swarm cells. The eggs laid by the queen in swarm cells are nurtured by worker bees. These cells are larger than regular brood cells and are built specifically for the development of new queen bees. The eggs in the swarm cells eventually hatch and develop into new queen bees. These newly emerged queens undergo a maturation process, during which they feed on royal jelly, a special secretion produced by worker bees. As multiple new queen bees emerge within the hive, they engage in a competitive process. They may engage in battles or emit specific pheromones to assert dominance and ensure only one queen bee survives.

Now there is a twist here that I find particularly interesting. The leadership being developed is for succession, not to take the new territory but to sustain the old one. The winner among the new queens becomes the leader of the old hive, while the old queen leads the swim of a contingent of worker bees into a new territory.

The Move!!

The next step here is the move, let’s examine this together tomorrow. If you would like to catch the beginning and end of this, subscribe to the newsletter and join our telegram community.

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Kind Regards,

Adeolu Akinyemi.