There are numerous species of honeybees across the world, the most common of which is the European honeybee. Their name refers to the bee’s ability to produce honey. The European honeybee creates colonies with a variety of different types of bee; a single fertile female, often called the queen; non-reproductive females called workers, and some fertile males called drones. Some bee colonies can individually house upwards of 20,000 bees. The queen emerges after having defeated her other female rivals. As a virgin female, she is able to develop eggs. Her unfertilized eggs become male offspring, drones. Only fertilized eggs are able to develop into female offspring, therefore either to queen bees or workers. Their diet in the larval stage determines whether they become a queen or worker. Queens are fed royal jelly, a high-protein gland secretion, and workers are fed nectar and pollen. This royal jelly diet enables the queen to develop the reproductive tract. The European honeybee is a domesticated insect. It is maintained by beekeepers who utilize the species for their honey production and pollination activities. Through such human interaction and species cultivation, the European honeybee now resides on all continents on Earth, save Antarctica, and acts as the world’s pollinator for agriculture. As a result of being an invasive species, not native to the area, imported honeybees can promote further production of plants equally non-native. This can lead to the displacement of native bees and birds alike. Naturally, European honeybees are threatened by pests and diseases. Varroa mites are a particular threat; parasitic mites that feed on the bodily fluids of the honeybees.