In message <[log in to unmask]>, Andrew Dubas
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>Do queens mate with bees from the same hive or from the same bee yard ?
There is such a thing as "Apiary vicinity mating" described by Beowulf
Cooper in his "Honeybees of the British Isles".
> I
>was told by another beekeeper that queens on their mating flights go about
>3-4 miles away to mate... is this true ?
There are such things as local drone congregation areas and major (more
distant) drone congregation areas which some beekeepers like to show off
with tethered queens. Where these exist the queen enters and is
immediately followed by a "comet" of drones. If she leaves it, drones
don't seem to follow.
> it just does not seem logical.
The bees ore *old*.
>Anyone have the answer Im looking for ?
Try it and see.
> The reason is because I make my own
>queens from my own bee yards and was told that it is better to buy queens
>from breeders because they are mated properly and that my queens wont be
>mated properly because the queen leaves and goes out of range of my colonies
>and since the feral bee populations are next to zero that she will be a
>drone layer in no time... I have not had any problems with inadequately
>mated queens however I still would like to know more about the mating
>flight..
So there's your answer. In time, you may see evidence of inbreeding. It
is better in the long term to outcross, unless you have at least 64
colonies in the area (up to 10 miles, I think).

--
James Kilty