Regarding drone drift:
 
   Rob Currie did a PhD ('88?) specifically on drone drift, at U of
   Manitoba with Prof. Cam Jay, who with several students over many years
   had studied other aspects of honey bee drift. Cam has retired and Rob is
   now Professor (and working with varroa, since Manitoba is one of the few
   areas in Canada, where varroa is well established).
 
   My recollection of Rob's conclusions is that drones drifted extensively
   within a yard, less to nearby yards,  but were not found in yards
   further than 1 km or half a mile away.
 
   I don't remember if Rob looked at drift to queenless hives, but it
   is sometimes very obvious. A good question would be whether drones
   follow queens (or other drones) back from congregation areas. This would
   be more emigration than drift.
 
   It looks to me like there is certainly something that distributes varroa
   around, more than the conventional drift model would suggest. In B.C.,
   the distribution of varroa in an apiary (and in a region) has been much
   more uniform, even during the very initial stages, than was the case
   with tracheal mites.
 
 
   Kerry Clark, Apiculture Specialist
   B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
   1201 103 Ave
   Dawson Creek B.C.
        V1G 4J2  CANADA          Tel (604) 784-2225     fax (604) 784-2299
   INTERNET [log in to unmask]