David Eyre wrote: > > That way she will mate with her own brother, not a good thing at all!! Her > pattern will become very checkerboard and inefficient. The drone brood from > this hive should be destroyed, not encouraged. Better still prevent drones > from this hive flying while she goes out to mate. My Reading indicates that the bees have a built-in preventative to the inbreeding you mentioned. The virgin queen flys to a more distant 'Drone Congregation Area' than do her brothers. -- "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Tom Elliott Eagle River, Alaska [log in to unmask]