In the US there is no such thing as as "pedigreed" bee, unless it was imported, and then artificially inseminated. If you live on an island or a minimum of fifteen miles from any other possible source of drones those queens WILL find a way to mate outside of their own genetics.
according to Dr Seely, David Tarpy, etc... queens will go as far as they must to avoid mating with their own drones,... and I also understand that if they do mate with their own drones the bees in the hive remove those eggs? Only what I have read... Cannot verify personally.
With genetic diversity comes strength and health.
Raising bees that were called italians, was difficult at first. But as the years pass, it seems that my bees from local matings and feral hives/swarms begin to winter better, more survivors, less problems.. But my bees are no longer golden, now they are bronze, with black tip tails, or tiger striped, or dark like Carniolans.. They survive, and thrive, so I for one am quite thankful for the lack of pedigree, and the greater survivability.
Like Capt44 I also bring the swarms here to my home yard. This is where I put hives to split, new splits/nucs, and problem hives I need to keep a closer eye on.. so cut outs and swarms also come here to be judged, grown, and then moved to an outyard if they thrive. As I see it, the bees I catch from cut outs or feral swarms are the same bees I am raising in my own yards.
