I like the term "lek" though I have rarely seen it used in connection with honey bees ... After orientation flights, queens fly to a drone congregation area (DCA), where they mate on the wing with many drones. DCAs are rich in palatable stingless insects and therefore mating at such leks presents a significant time-dependent predation risk to the queen. Mating risks include time and energy devoted to locating the DCA, copulation, risk of predation, exposure to disease and inclement weather. SEE Evolution of multiple mating in the genus Apis Kellie A. PALMER, Benjamin P. OLDROYD Apidologie 31 (2000) 235–248 *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm