Where are our drones?
Well, its been endoftermitis over here for us! We have been to all the events, end of term concerts, music exams (distinction, so proud), assemblies, sports days, my own assignment results (I passed by the way) and training for Ride London (not me, not on your nelly, thats the hubby).
So we popped up just to check the hive was still there. We should be visiting every week so must up our game. We decided to give them the sugar solution again as there is slow spreading into the new frames though it is starting to happen. The queen was there and my, there were alot of bees, plenty of eggs and lots of capped cells.
Where are the drones?
Right so, in case we need a recap there are three types of bee in a hive. One queen, lots of workers, and at different times of the year several thousands or several hundreds of drones or none at all.
The job of the drone is to fertilise the queen, when they have done that they are not much help. They spend time in the hive, eating the honey and not doing very much at all. Their primary purpose of mating with the Queen causes them to die afterwards as their reproductive organs are torn out of their body in the process. From a potential 1000 in a hive only 20 get to do this, the rest pop back and hang out in the hive for the summer, since this only occurs once in a season. It all takes place at a secret location only the bees know about called Drone Congregation Area or DCA. This is the same place every year and all the drones know where to go when the time arrives.
Drones are bigger than the workers and smaller than the queen. When I look for them, I look for their furry black head to spot them.
Heres an idea of size
Suffice to say that on Sunday there were no drones in evidence. A fellow beekeeper there at the same time said they might have already all gone and it wasn’t a problem. When the hive begins the process of preparing for colder winter with less forage, those with the least contribution to make that will just use resources are kicked out to enable the hive to survive better.
Once they are out, they die. Harsh, huh?
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