Because the queen was just as likely to be executed in both colonies, it showed that by mating with two males the queen actually doubled her chance of being executed.

Francis Ratnieks, Professor of Apiculture (beekeeping) at the University of Sussex, said: By studying test colonies, we found that queen stingless bees will have an increased chance of being executed by the workers in their colony if they mate with two males instead of the one male they normally mate with.

The reasons for this are fairly complex, but in short, it is due to the genetics of sex determination in bees and the risk of what is known as 'matched mating'.

The project tests a long standing idea of mine that if stingless bee queens mate with two males instead of one that it will increase their chances of being executed. It was quite satisfying that an idea that was thirty years old could finally be tested, especially when the hypothesis was found to be correct, Prof Ratneiks added.

The study, published in theAmerican Naturalist, helps biologists to understandwhy some species mate with multiple males, while others only remain with one.

The Honey Bee, which can be found in parts of the UK, is a species known for its queens mating with between ten and twenty males.

Queen stingless bees are closely related to honeybees and bumblebees, but are found in tropical climates such as Brazil.

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Queen bees more likely to be executed by their workers if they mate with multiple males, research shows - The Telegraph

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