I've heard that bees won't fly over water for any long distance.  Why comprises a long distance?   I have noticed an island that is in the middle of a lake.  Then nearest land to that island is about 0.4 mile and extends beyond that in most directions.  If I were to set up a queen mating yard in the middle of the island with four colonies of drone producers at the four points of the compass on the edge of the island, would that more or less contain my bees and exclude drones from areas other than the island?  The island is about 0.8 by 0.8 miles comprised of four fingers extending more or less N, S, E, & W.   I'm attaching a picture with this post but don't expect it to be there when posted on BEE-L.  Was wondering if this might be a consideration for attempting controlled mating.

Mike in LA


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