ROYAL JELLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does royal jelly mean? 

• ROYAL JELLY (noun)
  The noun ROYAL JELLY has 1 sense:

1. a secretion of the pharyngeal glands of bees that is fed to very young larvae and to bees destined to be queens

  Familiarity information: ROYAL JELLY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROYAL JELLY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A secretion of the pharyngeal glands of bees that is fed to very young larvae and to bees destined to be queens

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("royal jelly" is a kind of...):

secretion (a functionally specialized substance (especially one that is not a waste) released from a gland or cell)

 Context examples 

Researchers have discovered that honey bees are able to share immunity with other bees and to their offspring in a hive by transmitting RNA ‘vaccines’ through royal jelly and worker jelly.

(Discovery of RNA transfer through royal jelly could aid development of honey bee vaccines, University of Cambridge)

The researchers next analysed the worker and royal jellies and revealed diverse types of naturally occurring RNA, some derived from bee genes and some from pathogens such as fungi and infectious viruses, suggesting that over time the bees had developed – and shared – immunity to these pathogens.

(Discovery of RNA transfer through royal jelly could aid development of honey bee vaccines, University of Cambridge)