Peter wrote:
> I would say that laying workers are usually quite different. They tend to be much smaller. In the selection of drones which mate with queens, I doubt the little ones ever score. 
 

>We compared drones of different body size. Small drones were reared in worker cells
while large drones originated from drone cells. Small drones had a reproductive disadvantage compared with large drones.

>Smaller drones should have less reproductive success, which
was demonstrated in our experiments. Otherwise drones should be selected for smaller
weight, because these are presumed to be less costly to produce.

Berg, S., Koeniger, N., Koeniger, G., & Fuchs, S. (1997). Body size and reproductive success of drones (Apis mellifera L). Apidologie, 28(6), 449-460.

https://tinyurl.com/yclyhgdf

Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT

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