queen
From ZooTerms (Dictionary of Invertebrate Zoology)
Revision as of 23:41, 13 September 2013 by Andreas Plank (Talk | contribs) (1 revision: import_noun-simple)
queen (noun; Anglo-Saxon cwen, wife): (Arthropoda: Insecta) 1. A female member of the reproductive caste in semisocial and eusocial insects; may or may not differ morphologically from the workers. 2. In Formicidae, a fully developed reproductive female characterized by a generalized hymenopterous thorax and functional but deciduous wings; sometimes referred to as 'the female' of the colony.
