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The laying workers of the Cape honey bee continue to negatively affect the South African beekeeping industry, with more losses suffered in the northern regions of the country. • The reproductive parasites enter susceptible host colonies, activate their ovaries, and lay diploid eggs, leading to colony dwindling and collapse. • Diploidy in eggs produced by unmated laying workers arises from thelytokous parthenogenesis, first discovered in honey bees by a hobbyist beekeeper. • We examine the consequences of thelytokous parthenogenesis and outline what is being done to understand and limit the spread of the laying workers of the Cape honey bee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]