Readers helped named the queen bee who brought her swarm to the 2023 Indy 500. See the results
It's official: The queen bee who brought her colony to last year's Indy 500 has a name.
Janet Guthbee, now living at an Indianapolis-area farm, is named after Janet Guthrie, the first woman driver to qualify for the famed 500-mile race.
More than 500 readers voted in our online poll, which included the five top names suggested by IndyStar journalists. The runner up name was Dronica Patrick, after Danica Patrick, who's had six top 10 finishes in the race, according to previous IndyStar reporting. It could be a fitting name for one of her hundreds of thousands of daughters, if they ever have their own hives.
Previously: The queen bee from that 2023 Indy 500 swarm now has a thriving hive — and she needs a name
"I'm trying to get some of her daughters to become queens," beekeeper Ross Harding said in a recent phone interview. He explained that when beekeepers want to continue a line, they can take one of a queen's descendants, in larvae form, and put it with a colony that has no queen. "The idea is to get the bees to naturally respond to create queens."
If they've lost their queen, they'll want a new one, Harding said, so they will feed the queen a diet of royal jelly (which the worker bees secrete) and raise her as their new queen.
What to know about Janet Guthrie
The racing legend paved the way for women in driving. She raced in the Indy 500 in 1977, 1978 and 1979.
Learn more about her at the link below.
Indy 500 History: Janet Guthrie was the first woman to ever qualify and compete in the race
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 bee swarm: Queen be named after a speed queen
