"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
...




Thanks for that Mary, I don't expect I will ever get around to getting
their
DNA checked! I had always assumed that the drones were produced "In House"
so to speak but that would of course not be in the bees long term
interest.

They are produced in house but the queen always mates on the wing and some
way from the hive, it seems that drones congretage in some places and the
queen makes her way there. The drones can come from anywhere and she can
mate with up to eight (it is said) drones, it avoids inbreeding. Unless you
practise artificial insemination (yes, really!) you can't guarantee a line
in this country at least.

I was aware that the queens would have been replaced over the years and
its
also possible that the colony may have died out and another swarm moved in
to ready made accommodations.

Yes, it's difficult to know without continued observation :-)

But I had not realised (not being a keeper of bees) that there were many
kinds of honey bee. I find their habits fascinating and when they swarm to
somewhere you can get close to that is incredible to see how they form a
rain proof shield.

In rain or lower temperatures they cluster more tighlty.

I presume bee keepers try not to let theirs swarm?

We try. There are many methods, trouble is the bees don't read the same
books :-) Every beekeeper thinks s/he has the ideal system.

As someone said, just like gardeners, really :-)

Mary