Deborah as the queen bee

When a queen bee dies everything becomes a disaster in the hive, without the queen the hive will not survive. But if the hive is replaced by a new queen, it would be alright again. If you compare this to The Secret Life of Bees , Lily's mom dies and needs someone else to look up to, and Lily finds August which is very caring. Could Deborah be the queen bee and August the replacement queen?