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Author Topic: Queen mating and drones  (Read 5219 times)

Offline Stlnifr

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Queen mating and drones
« on: October 12, 2010, 07:51:56 pm »
If you capture feral swarms from a bee tree and want to continue with the feral bees by raising a few queens every spring to re-queen. Would the virgin queen mate with the drones from the hives in your apiary? I am sure they are no bee keepers with in a 1 ½  mile radius from where the bees  would be, am surrounded  by woods. Not sure about any feral bees in the area. Also not sure beyond the 1 ½ mile radius if they are other hobby bee keepers in the area. How far do drones travel to DCA to mate and does the queen try to not to mate with her offspring by flying further to seek an unrelated mate. Or does it just not matter who she mates with.
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Offline AllenF

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2010, 08:47:06 pm »
If your queen flies 1 1/2 miles away and the drone from the other side flies 1 1/2 mile closer to you.....   


I bet there are several hives in that area.   You need lots of drones for a queen to mate with also.   

Offline hardwood

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2010, 11:08:35 pm »
Queens will fly more than 6 miles to mate at times...helps to insure against inbreeding.

Scott
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2010, 11:56:59 pm »
The queen will mate with what she finds.  But as mentioned her instincts lead her further away on average than the drones.  Does this guarantee she won't mate with the drones from her yard?  No.  But it stacks the deck.
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Offline BjornBee

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #4 on: October 13, 2010, 09:18:45 am »
Queens will fly more than 6 miles to mate at times...helps to insure against inbreeding.

Scott

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Offline buzzbee

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2010, 11:18:39 pm »
Where do they come up with any of those numbers?It could be hundred yards or a hundred miles?I'm not sure there has been anything other than surmising on this fact unless possibly a radio transmitter had been attached.

Offline hardwood

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2010, 11:23:43 pm »
I ran along side one one time with my trusty pedometer...those things don't lie man :-D

Actually I can't say why that is in my head. Some long ago reading perhaps. I'll try to find the source.

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

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Offline annette

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2010, 11:33:22 pm »
I read they fly about 5 miles. See it depends what the reading material is.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2010, 12:06:33 am »
I've read a lot of different numbers on this subject,but they all seem to repeat what someone else said.It would be interesting to find out where they come up with these numbers though.
 We've all also read about drone congregation areas but has any one seen one? perhaps a hot air balloonist would be my best guess.
 But suffice it to say,the best queens are probably those that have managed not to mate with her own offspring.

Offline hardwood

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2010, 12:27:18 am »
Ken, I was walking deep in the swamp one time when I noticed a flickering light in the tree tops. After scaling a tall oak I noticed that the light was coming from a half-lit neon sign that read (to the best of my recollection)" XXXQUEEN EXTRAVAGANZAXXX" with a secondary "FREE NECTAR". I figured I had stumbled upon the beekeepers equivalent of an elephant graveyard so I slowly backed away. :-D

Scott 
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #10 on: October 14, 2010, 05:40:51 am »
The problem, of course, is that she might fly 10 yards and she might fly six miles...  the research I've seen just averages things out and comes to the conclusion that on the AVERAGE the queen flies further than the drones.  This is certainly far from a distinct distance that a queen will always fly.  Her instincts just send her further on average than the drones instincts send them on average.  On any given day I'm sure some researcher will come up with a different number depending on the whims of that queen and those drones... not because their measurements are off..
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Offline buzzbee

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2010, 07:28:37 am »
Ken, I was walking deep in the swamp one time when I noticed a flickering light in the tree tops. After scaling a tall oak I noticed that the light was coming from a half-lit neon sign that read (to the best of my recollection)" XXXQUEEN EXTRAVAGANZAXXX" with a secondary "FREE NECTAR". I figured I had stumbled upon the beekeepers equivalent of an elephant graveyard so I slowly backed away. :-D

Scott 
  :lol:

Offline AllenF

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Re: Queen mating and drones
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2010, 11:37:50 am »
Ken, I was walking deep in the swamp one time when I noticed a flickering light in the tree tops. After scaling a tall oak I noticed that the light was coming from a half-lit neon sign that read (to the best of my recollection)" XXXQUEEN EXTRAVAGANZAXXX" with a secondary "FREE NECTAR". I figured I had stumbled upon the beekeepers equivalent of an elephant graveyard so I slowly backed away. :-D

Scott 

Was this anywhere near that club "Hardwoods"?

 

anything