Bee genetics

26 Tanzanian queens escaped a Brazilian lab in 1957. Descendants reached Texas by 1990. The 'killer bee' hype was overblown. The management challenges aren't.

A drone's only job is to mate with a queen. He gets one shot - the act is fatal. By August, the workers drag surviving drones out of the hive to die.

A production queen costs $30. A breeder with documented genetics costs $500+. Instrumentally inseminated queens break $1,000. The price reflects the breeding.