Drone assembly point

DCA spaces ( English drone aggregation area ) are places of male bees ( drones the genus Apis as European honey bee Apis mellifera , Giant honeybee Apis dorsata or Apis cerana Apis cerana ) after sexual maturity (12-14 days after the slip are sought) to to mate with those queen bees who also come to this place. Up to 20,000 drones can collect at drone collection points.

The designation as a meeting point is a bit misleading, it is not about a static gathering in one place. Collecting the drones and also meeting and mating with the queens is a dynamic process and takes place in flight over the terrain. The assembled drones fly around so fast that they can hardly be distinguished with the eye. Only when you throw a small stone into the air, for example, can you recognize individual drones that reflexively want to pounce on this supposed queen.

The behavior of the bees, their orientation and communication in order to decide on a drone assembly point and how to get together in a timely manner has not yet been clarified. Apparently very specific signals emanate from the location, so that all drones of the bee colonies visit it at the same time in a large area. Possibly it is a question of optical stimuli, perhaps the polarization pattern of the incident solar radiation (invisible to humans) ; pheromones may also be involved. Even topologically disruptive mountain ranges in mountainous areas do not hinder a meeting. All the bees that gather there are naive , that is, they have never visited the place before and never return to it - the drones leave it and partly return to their hive, the queens found a new colony that they are usually never left.

Drone collection points can be in the same place for years (25).

Individual evidence

^ N. Koeniger, G. Koeniger, S. Tingek, A. Kalitu, M. Mardan: Drones of Apis dorsata (Fabricius 1793) congregate under the canopy of tall emergent trees in Borneo. In: Apidologie 25, No. 2, 1994, pp. 249-264.
↑ Hans Ruttner, Friedrich Ruttner: Studies on the flight activity and the mating behavior of the drones. V. drone assembly areas and mating distance. (PDF) In: Apidologie 3, No. 3, 1972, pp. 203-232.
↑ Friedrich Ruttner: Drones from Apis cerana Fabr. At a drone assembly point. In: Apidologie 4, No. 1, 1973, pp. 41-44.
↑ ^a ^b Hans Ruttner: Studies on the flight activity and the mating behavior of the drones. VI- - Flight on and over ridges In: Apidologie 7, No. 4, 1976, pp. 331-341.

[1] N. Koeniger, G. Koeniger, S. Tingek, A. Kalitu, M. Mardan: Drones of Apis dorsata (Fabricius 1793) congregate under the canopy of tall emergent trees in Borneo. In: Apidologie 25, No. 2, 1994, pp. 249-264.

[2] Hans Ruttner, Friedrich Ruttner: Studies on the flight activity and the mating behavior of the drones. V. drone assembly areas and mating distance. (PDF) In: Apidologie 3, No. 3, 1972, pp. 203-232.

[3] Friedrich Ruttner: Drones from Apis cerana Fabr. At a drone assembly point. In: Apidologie 4, No. 1, 1973, pp. 41-44.

[Ruttner-4] Hans Ruttner: Studies on the flight activity and the mating behavior of the drones. VI- - Flight on and over ridges In: Apidologie 7, No. 4, 1976, pp. 331-341.