Quite possibly the mother of all insect mothers. I took this extreme closeup of a honey bee colony at a Texas bee farm exhibit recently. The "queen bee" is easy to spot -- she's marked with the gold "halo" on her head. Although she appears to be working diligently along side the rest of her crew, she's actually the birth mother to most, if not all of, the worker bees. Of course, the primary role for the queen bee is to reproduce and lay eggs. The worker bees surround the queen bee and protect her constantly -- meeting her daily needs, providing her with nourishment, and disposing of her waste.
Talk about loyal and devoted children!
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