Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
who decides which workers will do this and which ones won't? This is probably where
genetic variation comes into play: some workers will be more genetically disposed to
carrying out this task than others.
Why is this? Remember that the queen mates with many drones, and so one group
of workers will be super-sisters derived from one father, all with a particular genetic
make-up, while other workers will be from the same queen but another father with a
different genetic make-up. Workers from the different genetic groups will have different
genetically driven dispositions to carry out the myriad tasks in the colony. There may
be many different subfamilies in the colony, and this depends on the number of drones
the queen mated with. All the workers therefore will have the same mother, but not
necessarily the same father. Research has shown that this genetic variation is vital for
the efficient working of the hive and is another reason for the queen to mate with so
many drones.
The number of worker bees in a colony will vary throughout the year but, during the
height of the active season, will number around 60,000-80,000 or more bees.
If on measuring the size of the cell a queen bee finds that it is a larger drone cell, she will
not fertilize the egg as it passes out and, around 24 days later, a drone bee will emerge.
Resulting from an unfertilized egg by a process known as parthenogenesis, the drone
bee is, in effect, a flying gamete, having converted the genetic content of an unfertilized
egg from one female into sperm and having carried this to another female.
Recognizing drones
The drone is a very specialized animal indeed. He is a big, burly bee, and most novice
beekeepers mistake drones for the queen. He is easily distinguished, however, because
of his blunt abdomen and huge eyes, which cover most of his head. He has no sting
and can be handled safely. This fact often leads even mature beekeepers to show off in
front of non-beekeepers, and small children have been known to trick their teachers by
presenting them with a handful of buzzing drones.
