Greetings
        The study of Evolution is fascinating and full of surprises. It is a mistake to speculate too much on "the reason" why things are the way they are. My own theory is that life began to vary wildly and this provided the *potential* for evolution. Some mutations or variations were beneficial and provided a selective advantage; these were retained. Some mutations were detrimental; most of these were not retained.
        Some variations appear to have no particular value. Why do the leaves of different species of tree look different? I view this as a sign of the whimsical variation of nature. Other strange and apparently useless attributes may be artifacts of evolutionary paths not taken or dead ends. Some may have their roots in the far distant past.
        Some species of insects -- even some varieties of honeybees -- have the ability such that the workers can raise males and females when the queen has been lost. In the European honeybee this appears to be a futile attempt to save the colony. On closer inspection, one see that the results are mostly drones simply because the eggs are unfertilized and unfertilized bee eggs (whether from a queen or a worker) turn into drones. The workers develop ovaries in the absence of a queen bee; whether this ability *has a purpose* or is simply a vestige, is not really known.
        There have been reports of queens "appearing" in laying worker hives. How can this be? Does a laying worker get mated? Or does one in a million unfertilized eggs turn up female? Maybe they steal an egg -- they could, if they thought of it! Or maybe, as some suggest, a stray queen flies in, thinking it's her home. Go figure...

PB