queen bee

From queen +‎ bee. Compare Middle English kyng of been (“queen bee”, literally “king of bees”).

queen bee (plural queen bees)

1. A reproductive female (especially the only one) in a colony of bees.
   • 1947, AI Root, The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, Kessinger 2005, p. 205:

     It is generally believed that the queen bee mates only once in her lifetime.

2. (idiomatic, colloquial, derogatory) The most important or dominant woman in an organisation or situation.
   • 2003, Jim Hatfield, Extra Marital Temptations, iUniverse 2003, p. 28:

     She muttered to her mother, “There's that obnoxious redhead who thought she was the Queen Bee last year when she was a senior!”

3. (metaphoric) Stem cell

• beemother