" When I see fall drone-heavy colonies, I have
 (until now) assumed that there was a maladaptive behavioral
 basis for it, because here in the northeast USA we need our
 colonies to throw out their drones and hunker down at this
 time of year.  I thought that queens reared in the
 south were  not very suitable for overwintering
 colonies in the north.'


North east Ohio.  Average 150 inches of snow a year.  First killing frost mid Oct.  Zone 5a in an average winter and as low as 4a about every fifth winter.

I routinely see drones this time of year.  I was in a bunch of hives just yesterday and saw lots of drone brood on comb built between boxes.  I would worry if I did not see drones this time of year and wonder what was wrong with my hives.

I find the folklore that southern raised queens are no good in the north interesting.  I have purchased queens from Georgia and Louisiana and found both sources did just fine in my climate and over winter just as well as the queens I raised myself.  Is there any actual data that shows southern queens under perform in the north versus queens with the same genetics raised in the north?  I think this is simply a myth which mainly seems to be pushed hard by the treatment free folks as an excuse for letting bees die.  I can understand why some strains of bees might not be well adapted to a cold (or warm) winter.  I can not understand how the same genetics could differ in cold response depending on where the queens  were raised.

Dick

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