How far do drones fly to mate?
I don’t think anyone really knows. They fly to DCAs (Drone Congregation Areas) and there are certain topographical clues they look for as well as pheromone trails in order to find one. DCAs are usually at a place where a tree row meets a tree row. The research seems to show that drones fly to the nearest DCA. The location, being dependant on the terrain and the amount of other hives nearby, the distance is hard to predict. Most of the scientists, however, say they fly, on the average, a shorter distance than the queens.
