here are two methods of reproductive swarming in which Apis dorsata initiates new colonies, which usually occurs in October or November. The most common occurs when a queen flies away from the original nest slowly and a swarm of workers follows her. This new cluster of bees can be temporary, or they can permanently move to a new nesting site. The distance these bees travel is unknown, but some have been observed to travel about 500 meters away from the original nest. The second, more rare method is referred to as “budding.” In budding, a group of workers leave the natal nest to form a new colony at a nesting site about 1 meter away from the original. A non-reproductive method of colony initiation is absconding. Absconding refers to when an entire colony moves to a new location. As a colony is formed, multiple curtains, essentially layers, of bees are formed around the developing nest. Colony initiation is related to the migratory patterns of these bees. Colony migration and decline As a colony is initiated, the migration depends on foraging resources and predation risks. These bees travel to different sites depending on the blooming season of flowers. There are about 100,000 members in each colony and each colony resides in one nesting site for about 3–4 months at a time. Colonies tend to decline when resources, such as food, honey, and pollen, are depleted. Colonies decline during the rainy and summer seasons because of the instability of foraging sources due to climate change. Behavior Mating Some drones and the queen fly away from the nest and mate on the wing. This is called nuptial flight. The drone flights are comparatively shorter than those of other Asian honeybee species. The Apis dorsata flights occur around dusk for 13 minutes on average. Apis dorsata exhibit high degrees of polyandry, with many drones mating with the queen. In fact, Apis dorsata fabricius is known to have the highest levels of polyandry among all social insects. In general, this bee population experiences extreme multiple matings. This may be attributed to the short duration of flight times for mating. During mating, the dron