The queen is fed only with royal jelly. They can be up to five years while the workers in the summer only live 6 weeks. Royal jelly has to be an extraordinary food.
The production can be stimulated. To a very strong colony a breeding comb is given with larvae in the cells. Instinctively the attendants of these cells will produce and provide royal jelly. After three days (72 hours), the caps are filled with royal jelly and they can be taken from the hive. Bees are swept from the comb and the larvae removed, and with a spatula or a little suction pump the royal jelly extracted from the caps. In each cel is then placed a new larva and the cycle begins again.