...although this doesn't go into sex determination in drones, I recently did a 5 minute presentation on honeybee genetics to a group of crafters (knitters/quilters/etc) at MIT's Stratta Center (the Frank Gehry building that looks like it is in mid-earthquake).

It was a fixed format talk of 20 slides, 15 seconds a slide (the slides advanced automatically every 15 seconds).  I found it quite a useful exercise to prepare and deliver this talk...I could only include what I could cover in 15 seconds on each slide.  The event was videotaped, and I will post a link to the actual talk when it is posted....but the slides are here, and I've gotten feedback that others have found them useful in understanding honeybee genetics:

http://beeuntoothers.com/index.php/beekeeping/where-do-bees-come-from

At a recent lecture we attended (by a young phd bee researcher who teaches beekeeping in some adult ed program and runs a business keeping bees for other people on their property), it was explained that diploid drones are bad for the hive because they are sterile and a drain on the hive.  Unfortunately, not only is the absolutely wrong, but it will prevent anyone who believes it from considering inbreeding as a cause of a spotty brood pattern.

deknow

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