Just as it had been seen in the closed studies, genetically diverse colonies are stronger, healthier, and more likely to survive through the working season. In colonies where the queen had mated seven or more times, honey bees were 48 percent more likely to survive the working season than those colonies which were less diverse genetically. Only 17 percent of the colonies where the queen mated less than seven times were able to survive through the 10-month period.
