queen substance
noun
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.
Nearby words
queen palm, queen post, queen regent, queen regnant, queen street farmer, queen substance, queen truss, queen's award, queen's bench, queen's bench division, queen's bounty
Origin of queen substance
First recorded in 1950–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for queen substance
queen substance
noun
a pheromone secreted by queen honeybees and consumed by the workers, in whom it causes suppression of egg-laying
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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