A bee colony can be viewed as a superorganism, according to researchers

A bee colony can be viewed as a superorganism, according to researchers. Traditionally, a colony consists of a queen, 200 to 300 drones, and tens of thousands of worker bees, each with specific roles contributing to the colony's function. A new study from Lund University proposes seeing the colony as a single organism, similar to how our bodies consist of cells.

The study suggests that each queen and her colony form one superorganism, undergoing life stages comparable to mammals—from embryo to adult, aging biologically and eventually dying after several years. Reproduction involves significant parental care, sometimes risking the parent's life.