Born from unfertilized eggs, drones are the only male honeybees within a colony. Their main purpose is to help ensure the survival and genetic diversity of their colony and honeybee species overall through reproduction. They do this by mating with virgin honeybee queens from other colonies.
Though they can sometimes be found inside their beehive being cared for by worker bees, drones normally hang out away from the hive at “Drone Congregation Areas” where they hope to find a virgin queen to mate with. (You can find more on DCAs in the “Read More” section below!)
Drones differ from worker and queen honeybees in the typical way that males and females differ but unfortunately for drones, the process of mating with a queen will cause their appendage to be ripped off, which abruptly ends their already short lifespan.
They also have a much wider and stouter body than worker bees and are often mistaken for queens because of their size. Unlike female bees, they lack stingers and because of this, they are unable to help with the normal tasks required of worker bees like foraging and guarding the entrance, making them a bit of a 1-hit-wonder when it comes to benefiting the colony.
If drones born in the spring or summer survive to see the end of the fall, they’ll be kicked out of the hive by other bees to prevent them from consuming too many resources as the colony’s specialized winter bees are clustering through the winter. Though they aren’t useful for helping with many of the day-to-day tasks within a colony, the role drones play in mating and genetic diversity is an absolutely integral one to the long-term survival and resilience of the species.
Read More
What is a Drone Congregation Area?
The Role of the Drone Honeybee *
* Colony Member–Only Content
Related Products in the PerfectBee Store
The Mating Biology of Honeybees Book
Drones – Not just beneficial for reproductive purposes!
Drones actually can do more than just aid in reproduction, they can help you as their beekeeper, too.
Learn more about how utilizing drones can help manage a big threat to bees in “Do drones serve a purpose outside of mating?”
