Hi Bill
That's a good question. I need to dig a bit more but I would say the honey bee colony is a unit and is not directed by either the queen nor the workers. I think the whole colony responds to environmental cues and the reproductive state of the queen. I did find this:

> Other external conditions are less important than seasonal changes, but they play a role in regulation of egg laying within a specific season. Oviposition is highly correlated with pollen-collecting activities (Cale, 1967). Nectar coming into the hive only shows a great influence when bees are near starvation (Chauvin, 1956).

G Koeniger, in: Bee genetics and breeding, 1986. 

I don't have that book at present so this is just a snip from https://books.google.com/advanced_book_search

PLB

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