Promiscuous queen bees maintain genetic diversity

ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2012) -- By mating with
nearly 100 males, queen bees on isolated islands avoid inbreeding and
keep colonies healthy. The results, published in the current issue of PLoS ONE,
focused on giant honey bee colonies on Hainan Island, off the coast of
China. Since these bees have long been separated from their continental
cousins, it was thought that the island bees would be prime candidates
for inbreeding as well as having very different genes, said Zachary
Huang, Michigan State University entomologist.

Read the article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120416150403.htm