# Questions about bees

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-bees/656682>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 25, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-bees/656682 "2013-04-25T17:47:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-bees/656682/41 "2013-04-27T02:33:52Z")

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> [@snowthx](#):
>
> I am a little unclear on this. The queen does not mate with drones from here own hive? From the wiki link provided above, it indicates the queen may “choose” to lay an unfertilized egg that results in a drone. I take that, and what you say here to mean she is creating drones for other hives(?). If so, it would seem the drones really serve no real advantage to their home hive at all, correct?

The purpose of the drones is to spread the genes of the queen by mating with other queens and in doing so fathering the daughters of those queens. In essence the drones are the male reproductive organs of the hive. They don’t serve any direct advantage to the hive, but in an evolutionary sense the creation of drones is a major purpose of the hive.

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**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-bees/656682/42 "2013-04-28T04:12:52Z")

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Absolutely fascinating thread! 🆒

And to be perfectly honest, after reading everything that came after my first post, I humbly apologize for that ‘snarky’ reply. :smack:

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