Busy queen bees maintain genetic diversity, health of their colonies

Researcher Zachary Huang discovered that queen bees will mate with nearly 100 males to ensure genetic diversity in the colony. By mating with nearly 100 males, queen bees on isolated islands avoid inbreeding and keep colonies healthy. These findings, published in a recent issue of PLoS ONE, focused on giant honey bee colonies on Hainan Island, off the coast of China. Because these bees have long been separated from their continental cousins, it was thought that the island bees would be prime candidates for inbreeding and have very different genes, said MSU AgBioResearch scientist Zachary Huang.