## 1 Introduction
In the specifications of the registry operating protocol, it is foreseen that breeders should use protected mating stations to ensure maintenance of subspecies standards and to enact breeding programs. Thus, as part of the activities proposed by the Central Technical Commission (CTC) of the same National Registry, an attempt was made to define specific criteria that an area must possess for theestablishment of a mating station, and to use the data currently available in the BDNA to identify potentially suitable areas on the Italian territory and display them on maps. The request derives from the need to have a minimum area in which there is a reasonable guarantee of the absence of apiaries (and consequently of unknown drones) that could interfere with the mating of the queen bees of a bee breeder or of a breeding group who carry out their activity with colonies of a specific subspecies or belonging to local populations or who are engaged in a program of genetic improvement. The absence of apiaries would, therefore, represent the ideal solution and the one to be preferred in order to guarantee the objectives of the conservation and genetic improvement program. Despite the provisions of the Breeders' National Registry, that the mating station must be at a minimum distance of 3 km from other apiaries whose genetic characteristics are not known, in agreement with the general recommendations [5] that indicate a distance of 6 km from other apiaries, the Committee of the Registry decided to use this 6 km radius, as minimum distance for assessing areas suitable for setting up mating stations in the present investigation. In this regard, we also recall the recently approved regional law of the Italian region Emilia Romagna which, in article 7 \"Protection of the _Apis mellifera_ subspecies _ligustica_\", provides for the possibility that suitable buffer areas can be established around collective mating stations for queen bees [11]. In addition, the possibility of establishing protected buffer areas for the breeding of queen bees for selective or commercial purposes is also afforded by the bekeeping legislation of various Italian regions. The tool used to identify areas characterized by the absence of apiaries is the Geographic Information System (GIS). GIS is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing geographical data. GIS operates on many levels. On the most basic level, GIS technology is used as computer cartography, that is for straightforward map making. The real power of GIS, however, is through using spatial and statistical methods to analyze attribute and geographic information. For example, using GIS, a single map could include sites that produce pollution, such as factories, and sites that are sensitive to pollution, such as wetlands and rivers. Such a map would help people determine where water supplies are most at risk. GIS can be used alone or in combination with other technologies including remote sensing to perform the required analysis. Remote sensing consists of information acquired from satellite or aerial images. These images are incorporated directly into the GIS application, or they can be elaborated according to a framework to obtain maps and spatial data. A typical example of satellite image framework elaboration is the CORINE Land Cover (CLC, [[https://land.copernicus.eu/global/](https://land.copernicus.eu/global/)]([https://land.copernicus.eu/global/](https://land.copernicus.eu/global/)), accessed on 18 May 2021). The objective of the CLC project is the provision of a unique and comparable dataset of land cover for Europe. In the GIS spatial analysis, the CLC data are used for characterizing and describing the land use and land cover information of the territory [12; 13]. There are also studies related to honey bees and bekeeeping, where GIS can be utilized to select suitable locations for apiaries, to map bee plants, to study bee behavior, diseases and pests, and to predict the effects of climate change on honey bees beside other benefits for beekeeping.