>>>Aren't we all missing something?  If you are doing open mating you would need to 
boost all your neighbors drone production.  Drones come from far and wide and 
intermix in DCA.<<<

And your point is?  Out of season queen rearing and isolated mating yards have been used for years. Brother Adam and Hastings are two of many examples of the latter, while Jurica even wrote a book outlining his "out of season" system.

>>>I question how well the small emergency drones produced by such a technique 
would function for mating.  I suspect that they would work in a pinch.<<<

I would question the use of the word "emergency" in this context.  Not all drones raised in worker cells are going to be small due to cell modification/enlargement at the expense neighboring cells.  I'm not aware of any work that proves the effect of "miniaturization" on drones one way or the other.  I would assume sperm volume would be impacted, but don't know that for a fact.

Jump in here PLB, that's your cue <Grin>, I don't have Uni resource access anymore, bring the power of Cornell to bear on this topic.

Commercial queen breeders know how to manage and extend the drone population in their mating yards.  The point is not so much to start drone rearing as it is to extend the rearing season.   Steve Tabor, my major "beekeeping mentor", may his soul rest in peace, showed and published the information that pollen was the key to continued drone production.  He was able to maintain drone production year around by feeding pollen to excess.  Pollen, fresh or frozen, not dried or mixed with pollen "substitutes".

I should take this opportunity to repeat his mantra " there is no such thing as a "pollen substitute" only "pollen supplements" or words to that effect.  I firmly believe that he forgot more about bees than most of us will ever know.

>>>I am not sure about thinking the drones would be small emergency drones. 
 
I have saw drones from most hives however small  seem to be normal size 
(unlike emergency queens made from too old larva ect.) 
 
I would question the time factor involved to emerging and then the time to 
be mature enough to mate. About a month from egg?<<<

Pinch me! Tell me I'm not dreaming!  I think BB Harrison and I are in virtually complete agreement on something.<Grin>  Could this mean the Mayans are right?

Rip

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