Fight Club

According to Tyler Durden, the character played by Brad Pitt in the 1999 movie Fight Club:

The first rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club.

And, if that wasn't clear enough:

The second rule of Fight Club is that you do NOT talk about Fight Club.

Let's skip the third rule for the moment, and go directly to the fourth:

Only two guys to a fight.

Fight Club was a box-office disappointment but has become a cult classic, and now regularly features in the 'Best films of …' rankings. Although you may have missed it at the cinema, it's a perennial favourite on streaming services.

If you know the movie, you'll know the quotes … and the rules.

If you don't, then never mind, because I'm about to break all those rules {{1}}.

In this post I'm going to discuss what happens in the days between a colony swarming and being left with a single virgin queen. The last queen gets mated and then heads the colony through the remainder of the season and into the winter.

I'll therefore be talking about fights, lots of fights, between girls (not guys), and why they are so important in honey bee biology.

The 'choice' of this queen — however she is selected — is critical for colony survival. It's therefore of interest to honey bee biologists, and (for those of us who occasionally lose swarms {{2}}) it should also be of interest to beekeepers.

I emphasised the word 'choice' in the sentence above as it's likely that the queen is not chosen, or if she is, it's in a manner we don't yet understand.

Finally, before leaving Fight Club, be aware that I'm also going to break the third rule …

If a fighter says "Stop," goes limp, or taps out, the fight is over.

… because, unlike the bruising-but-not-fatal fisticuffs in Fight Club, I'm discussing fights to the death.