queen bee

From queen +‎ bee. Compare Middle English kyng of been (“queen bee”, literally “king of bees”).

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queen bee (plural queen bees)

1. A reproductive female (especially the only one) in a colony of bees.
   • 1947, AI Root, The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, Kessinger, published 2005, page 205:

     It is generally believed that the queen bee mates only once in her lifetime.

2. (idiomatic, colloquial, derogatory) The most important or dominant woman in an organization or situation.
   • 2003, Jim Hatfield, Extra Marital Temptations, iUniverse, page 28:

     She muttered to her mother, “There's that obnoxious redhead who thought she was the Queen Bee last year when she was a senior!”

3. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (figurative) A stem cell.

• (bee): beemother (very rare)