![]() ![]() We also estimated the number of mother-colonies that drones of a specific DCA originated from. In the present study, we assessed the genetic structure of seven drone congregations and four commercial European-derived and Africanized apiaries in southern Brazil, employing seven microsatellite loci for this purpose. Drone congregation areas (DCAs) are the ideal place to study honeybee reproduction under natural conditions since hundreds of drones from various colonies gather together in the same geographical area for mating. Genetic structure of drone congregation areas of Africanized honeybees in southern BrazilĪs yet, certain aspects of the Africanization process are not well understood, for example, the reproductive behavior of African and European honeybees and how the first Africanized swarms were formed and spread. ![]() The relatedness among the drones mated to the same queen is also very low, maximizing the genetic diversity among the different patrilines of a colony. ![]() Consequently, the relatedness between a queen and her mates, and hence the inbreeding coefficient of the progeny, should be minimized. Considering the density of colonies around the congregation area and the average flight range of males, it suggests that most colonies within the recruitment perimeter delegated drones to the congregation with an equal probability, resulting in an almost perfect panmixis. Therefore, colonies were apparently equally represented in the drone congregation, and calculations showed that the congregation comprised males that originated from about 240 different colonies. These values are very close to a Poisson distribution. A parentage test based on lod score showed that this sample contained one group of four brothers, six groups of three brothers, 20 groups of two brothers and 80 singletons. Using 20 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci, we studied a sample of 142 drones captured in a congregation close to Oberursel (Germany). The honeybee (Apis mellifera) queen mates during nuptial flights, in the so-called drone congregation area where many males from surrounding colonies gather. Relatedness among honeybees (Apis mellifera) of a drone congregationīaudry, E. ![]()
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