ENVS 2210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Royal Jelly, Trophallaxis, Outcrossing
15 Nov 2016
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Colony reprod: production of several colonies by swarming. Bees reproduce at the individual and colony levels. Sex ratio: 5-20 thousands drones per <10 queens. Under normal conditions a colony has a single reproductive female, the queen. Egg laying, queen substance, pheromones spread by contact and trophallaxis. Under certain circumstances such as the sudden loss of the queen, or during swarming or supersedure the queen is replaced. Drones develop from unfertilized eggs through the process of parthenogenesis. The only function that drones have is to inseminate virgin queens. Interconnection: colony level reproduction depends on reproduction of individuals. Matings between queens and drones occur in congregation areas. Drones and virgin queens find the same sites without being guided to the mating areas. Areas of 50-020m in the air, 4-20 m above the ground. No pattern in terrain or vegetation; mate in the same sites year after year. Several km away from colonies to avoid outbreeding (breeding among relatives)
