Male honeybees, or drones, play an important role in the genetic diversity of the colony. During the mating season, drones leave the hive to find Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs) where they wait for a queen to fly by. The queen will mate with drones from numerous colonies, which broadens the genetic pool and increases the chance of the colony surviving.
A drone congregation area (DCA) is a specific place where drones gather and wait for virgin queens to visit. All honey bee mating takes place in air—never on the ground or in the hive. DCA’s attracts drones and queens together from a wide area.
Drones, mate with a virgin queen bee in mid-air. During this process, the drone inserts his endophallus into the queen and ejaculates semen. After ejaculation, the drone pulls away from the queen, but his endophallus is ripped from his body, remaining attached to the newly fertilized queen. The drone dies shortly after mating.

• The abdomen is dark, never yellow;
• The hair are grey to greyish brown;
• The cubital index is 2.0 (1.8–2.3).

• l’abdomen est de couleur foncée, jamais jaune,
• les petits poils sont de couleur brune-grise,
• l’index cubital est de 2,0 (1,8-2,3) mm.

• der Hinterleib ist dunkel, niemals gelb,
• die Haare sind grau bis braungrau,
• der Kubitalindex beträgt 2,0 (1,8–2,3).

carnica Medokost®
Apiaries – Imkerei – apiculture MEDOKOST & MEDOVITA, Slovenia
Apis mellifera carnica MEDOKOST® – Kozjansko, Slovenia
Certified queen bee breeding center for the Carniolan bee (Apis m. carnica)
Centre d’élevage de reines certifié pour l’abeille carniolienne (Apis m. carnica)
Zertifizierte Bienenköniginzuchtstation für die Krainer Biene (Apis m. carnica)