蜂后又称蜂王、女王蜂，是蜜蜂群体中唯一能正常产卵的雌性蜂，蜂后通常是蜂群中其它成员的母亲，故有人也把蜂王称为母蜂。一个蜜蜂群体中可能有几千到几万只蜜蜂，但只会有一只蜂后。

蜂后会从女王杯中出生，蜂后的幼虫会持续食用蜂王浆直到发育完成，未持续食用蜂王浆的雌性幼虫会成为工蜂。

蜂后因一生都靠食用蜂王浆长命，其寿命可长达4-5年，但在实际生产中一年就需换为新王。

The term queen bee is typically used to refer to an adult, mated female that lives in a honey bee colony or hive; she is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. The queens are developed from larvae selected by worker bees and specially fed in order to become sexually mature. There is normally only one adult, mated queen in a hive, in which case the bees will usually follow and fiercely protect her.