Pupae and adults of 4 Apis dorsata F. colonies from northern Thailand were collected in liquid nitrogen. DNA was extracted, and microsatellite genotypes at 3 loci determined for 42–194 workers per colony. From these data, the queen genotype was inferred, and the number of males with which each queen mated deduced. These A. dorsata queens mated with a mean of 26.75 ± 5.42 (SEM) drones (range, 13–39). The mean within-colony genetic relatedness was 0.29 ± 0.009. All colonies were monogynous. Possible reasons for the very high level of polyandry and the great variance are discussed. A null allele was detected for 1 microsatellite locus in 1 queen progeny.
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Oldroyd et al. (1996) studied this question.