Oddball Bee Mutations |
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Honey Bee Picture Gallery
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Visible mutations are most often seen in drones. Since drones develop from unfertilized eggs, they have only one set of chromosomes. All recessive genes are expressed in drones, none are hidden by a second, dominant gene.
The top picture shows an eye color variation which changes from light yellow to dark red over time. The bottom picture shows two drones hatching from their cells at the same time, one with the white eye mutation, the other with normal black eyes. It is possible for these two bees to be the sons of one queen because she is obviously a carrier of the recessive white eye gene. All of her daughters will have normal black eyes because the black eye gene is dominant. For more details of how this works check out the pages on honeybee mutations or honeybee genetics. |
Beginning beekeepers click here for information on getting started in beekeeping What's happening in the Bee World
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