From Charles Lindner's reply:
"They have already passed many hours being fed as workers, whereas an egg destined to be a queen is fed as such from the moment it hatches. 

Are you sure?  Obviously if its in a queen cup,  but may are not,  and exactly what is the difference?  A few hour old larva well fed is absolutely swimming in royal jelly (look in a microscope)  it seems to me the very tiny amount it consumes in its first hours are far from an issue."

Jerry can correct me on this but I seem to remember from class readings that all bee larvae are fed identically until they are three days of age, at which point any larvae meant to become queens are fed a special diet (and research on just what makes it special is ongoing), and I think are also fed larger amounts of that special diet.

What amazes me is that the larva destined to be a queen hatches from its egg on day 3, and is capped on day 7 1/2. That means there is only that brief 4 1/2 day window to make that royal difference in terms of diet. 

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