queen bee

plural queen bees

1. A reproductive female (especially the only one) in a colony of bees.

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

   1947, AI Root, The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, Kessinger, published 2005, page 205

   Synonyms: beemother

2. colloquialderogatoryidiomaticThe most important or dominant woman in an organization or situation.

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

   2003, Jim Hatfield, Extra Marital Temptations, iUniverse, page 28

   1 more example

   She wrote very generously to aspiring women writers, gave them good advice, took time to read their manuscripts and comments, and warmly applauded their successes. There is not a hint of the Queen Bee in the attitude toward other women writers.

   1981 February 14, Peg Cruikshank, “The Warmth Shines Through”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 29, page 15

3. figurativelyA stem cell.