In ages past, hives were fiercely territorial organizations. Queens would fight to control as much land and as many subjects as they could, competing for scarce resources and followers. The ever-expanding appetites of a queen would eventually be their downfall, making any hive eventually collapse in on itself either by the starvation of their queen or their own internal strife. Cooperation between queens was rare, as any other queen was just another rival growing in power the more time they had to prepare.

In modern times, especially in this part of the world, food is far more readily available, and even a modest hive can sustain their queen for much longer without causing undue stress on their surroundings. Gemini Hive and Midnight Sun remain on good terms with one another, the latter providing social support for the former (and, by extension, the Galactic Maids) in exchange for the queen parasite provided to establish their hive.

There are way more people in this picture than I can properly identify, but for the most part you should be blaming NoSleepNeeded for arranging this giant group shot. This is another one of those pictures that's been kicking around since December, and in the time since then we've gotten so many more bats, another queen, and even a new regional variation of symbiote! I continue to be amazed that people keep getting into this weird little niche, and very thankful for all the lovely folks I've gotten to meet as a result. Even if I am absolutely rubbish at being a hive queen.

Art: Ficus (original)