We returned from the U.S. last week and immediately checked all the hives at BeeCamp. To our surprise, one of the colonies still had drones lingering around. For this time of year, that’s quite unexpected — because the drones are about to face a rather harsh reality.
Inside the hive, the winter bees are beginning to emerge. Outside, flowers—their source of nectar—are disappearing, and the worker bees are desperately flying out to gather what little food remains. In the midst of all that, the drones, who neither work nor collect food, eventually get kicked out of the hive by the workers. Once evicted, they wander with nowhere to go and ultimately starve.
As beekeepers, it’s our job to figure out why there are still drones hanging around at this stage of the season.