Diversity and productivity

From Science
An unexplained combination of diversity and productivity that echoes New York and London and many others.....

This is an important paper because it demonstrates genetic diversity can lead to a marked increase in performance," says entomologist and neuroscientist Gene Robinson of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Previous studies of the impact of diversity on hive function had yielded inconsistent results, he notes, but the new one is the longest and most comprehensive. It's not clear why diverse hives would be more productive, but one theory is that the bees are more sensitive to work-related stimuli and thus more likely to take on various tasks. As for the reported disappearance of honey bees and collapses of hives (Science, 18 May, p. 970), Robinson says that lack of diversity isn't thought to be a cause. The queens in most commercial beekeeping operations are mated with multiple drones.