Whereas their expression levels showed no remarkable difference in queenright and queenless workers.
Beibei Li, Li Hou, Dan Zhu, Xilian Xu, Shiheng An, Xianhui Wang 2018, 'Identification and caste-dependent expression patterns of DNA methylation associatedgenes in Bombus terrestris', Scientific Reportshttp://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s41598-018-20831-1. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
A recent study showed that worker larvae fed in a queenless colony develop into another female polyphenic form: rebel workers.
Karolina Kuszewska, Michal Woyciechowski 2015, 'Age at Which Larvae Are Orphaned Determines Their Development into Typical or RebelWorkers in the Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)', PLOS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.0123404. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)