Finding a DCA

[BeeJayBee]

There are many listed in Beowulf Cooper's book.

Are they mapped? If so, any chance of a scanned copy?

 

[SixFooter]

Get hold of a virgin queen pop her in a cage fix to the end of a garden cane and go for a walk holding her up in the air to see what you can attract.

A lot of strange looks from ramblers?

 

[SixFooter]

Men in white coats I would think !!

Ah. You beat me to it!

 

[SixFooter]

I'd love to know where the DCA s are in my area. Not sure what I would do with the knowledge, but still.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Here's a DCA put to music

http://earthtouch.tv/blog/article/v...ight-in-slow-motion/?category=best-of-youtube

 

[SixFooter]

here's a dca put to music

http://earthtouch.tv/blog/article/v...ight-in-slow-motion/?category=best-of-youtube

wow!

 

[Tom Bick]

Here's a DCA put to music

http://earthtouch.tv/blog/article/v...ight-in-slow-motion/?category=best-of-youtube

Nice clip thanks

 

[Hivemaker.]

I'd love to know where the DCA s are in my area.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgtDhNeg9_Y"]Sky fishing for Drones (bees) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Tom Bick]

Cheers Pete that will have a few people thinking hard today but I still fancy my cage on a stick. As helium balloons and heathrow may not go well together

 

[MuswellMetro]

Hi all,
A quote from Clarence Collison's article initially submitted by Hivemaker.
"It is still unclear why drones choose particular areas in which to congregate and how queens locate these areas, although DCA’s and the mating behaviors of queens and drones have been extensively studied."
Is it really that complicated? With 239 beeks in my area I can imagine that the local drone population would happen upon one another as they fly around sussing out what would constitute a good DCA. After all that is their raison d'etre and a bit like finding the best pub in the area? Now, the queen is a follower and not a leader. The drones set off first and she follows begrudgingly. How does she know where to go. She follows the stragglers as they are large, noisy and smelly (not sure about the smelly) - simples.

Does she follow her own drones?

if she did then she would have a poor laying pattern due to diploid Drones, what you dont want is for her to mate with a drone clone of herself as the resultant fertilised egg will be male

 

[Erichalfbee]

No. She is escorted by a retinue of her workers who have already explored the area. That's what I have understood

 

[beeno]

Does she follow her own drones?

if she did then she would have a poor laying pattern due to diploid Drones, what you dont want is for her to mate with a drone clone of herself as the resultant fertilised egg will be male

Hi MM,
I see where you are coming from, but all DCAs have some degree of incestious matings going on although a small percentage! I have not seen any research which states that this will make her a drone layer, but then I am not a geneticist!