As I am keen on the conservation of the dark bee I have become interested in drone congregation areas (let's call them DCAs). In the long run it would be great if we could identify areas which are dominated by native bees and place mating nucs near their DCAs.

At the moment there seems to be little information about Scottish DCAs available, and I wonder if we can get together and create a bit of a database about them. Important points would be location and a description of the topography as well as times of activity and favourable weather conditions.

I have to admit that I have never observed one myself yet, but I feel this is quite a neglected subject in our knowledge about our bees. I also feel that with a bit of publicity we could get other naturalists interested, and more eyes on the lookout would certainly be helpful.

Anybody else interested?
Doris