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This photo shows three bees (circled in red) from my hive that seem, to me, very different looking bees that are from the same queen. Actually the one on the top left is yet another type I see frequently, though I didn't circle her (rear half of her abdomen is non-banded dark). Is this the result of open mating with several racially different sperm donors (I know that several matings occur), or can bees just vary that much naturally? This queen was from a package and was sold as an Italian. This degree of variation is the norm; there is no real "typical" bee for this hive.
http://www.totalupload.com/uploads/3b5a8feb2c.jpg
http://www.totalupload.com/uploads/3b5a8feb2c.jpg