Drones getting the boot

[Grub]

Drones still in plenty with me South Wales Pencoed, no sighn of the big heave ho yet, would be intresting to see what happening around the country though

Grub

 

[MuswellMetro]

still had a small patch of drone brood in one of mine on saturday

 

[Grub]

still had a small patch of drone brood in one of mine on saturday

thanks for this I can tick London off my list

By the look of it I may find out the rest of the Country by Christmas

Grub

 

[Silly Bee]

Hardly any in my 3 hives. As difficult to spot as my unmarked queens.

 

[newportbuzz]

i had a cut out 4 days ago and there was only some starving drones visable at the entrance and hundreds of dead drones along the entrance.

 

[JamesB]

Mines just started i watched 2 of the hives refusing entry to a drone on Sunday just gone

 

[kazmcc]

Still a small amount of drone brood here in Manchester. No sign of booting out. Still drones bumbling about on the frames as of last Weds. Not been down to watch much this week, but the times I have I haven't seen any evidence of drones being kicked out, but then again, I've not seen any drones on the landing strip either.

Ours are carnis if that makes a difference. I think I read that different types do things at different rates, idk if that includes laying drones or kicking out though.

 

[Queens59]

East devon, still have a small amount of brood in most frames, and the drones are still happily accepted in my hive. I keep expecting the number of bees to start dropping for the winter - instead it seems to be getting busier and busier...

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Lincs. Not seen any drones in brood or mature form for a couple of weeks now.

Haven't actually seen lock outs, but there was plenty of evidence of dead things when I cut the grass in front of the hives last Saturday - may have been wasp related though.

 

[Teemore]

County Armagh - I had drones kicked out about a month ago but on my last couple of checks there has been fresh drone brood.

 

[kathrynat]

No drone cells or drones for over a week here and we are only a few miles down the m4 from you Grub

 

[oliver90owner]

no sighn of the big heave ho yet, would be intresting to see what happening around the country

I find this so very interesting - all those beeks worrying to know whether their colonies are normal or not.

There is very little connection between drone eviction and where you are located.

Eviction can coincide with a steep flow reduction, shortage of stores, very cold patch of weather, etc.

Retention can be related to supercedure, age of queen, etc.

So any colony anywhere could be throwing out drones for one or more of a variety of reasons, or the converse.

The autumnal chuck-out, readying for winter will simply be up to the worker bees - good foraging may make it later.

Indeed, some colonies seem to have a few drones all winter, although I have not experienced/observed that.

It makes those with just a very few colonies give replies which may be an isolated case, or scenario, totally out of sync with the vast majority of other local colonies.

I am sure those in Cumbria would have lost their drones when stores were running short (well over a month ago when we saw the inspector's warning letter? Last year it was happening at the end of July IIRC, but all of my (large) colonies were actively producing drones.

There is no particular correlation further than it generally happens later in the season, everywhere.

RAB

 

[drstitson]

Drone Brood

Obviously now is the wrong time of year but recent discussions and some further reading has inspired me to set-up a simple little project/survey to look at the genetic health of our bees, starting next spring/early summer once we all get inspecting again.

It'll just involve completing a brief questionnaire and at least one simple non-invasive visual survey of drone brood.

Will come up with the details over the autumn/winter and get back to people in the New Year.

 

[kazmcc]

no sighn of the big heave ho yet, would be intresting to see what happening around the country

I find this so very interesting - all those beeks worrying to know whether their colonies are normal or not.

There is very little connection between drone eviction and where you are located.

Eviction can coincide with a steep flow reduction, shortage of stores, very cold patch of weather, etc.

Retention can be related to supercedure, age of queen, etc.

So any colony anywhere could be throwing out drones for one or more of a variety of reasons, or the converse.

The autumnal chuck-out, readying for winter will simply be up to the worker bees - good foraging may make it later.

Indeed, some colonies seem to have a few drones all winter, although I have not experienced/observed that.

It makes those with just a very few colonies give replies which may be an isolated case, or scenario, totally out of sync with the vast majority of other local colonies.

I am sure those in Cumbria would have lost their drones when stores were running short (well over a month ago when we saw the inspector's warning letter? Last year it was happening at the end of July IIRC, but all of my (large) colonies were actively producing drones.

There is no particular correlation further than it generally happens later in the season, everywhere.

RAB

Thanks Rab, that makes total sense. Ours are bringing back tons of pollen still so things are still good, and temperatures are still quite high. The drone I observed being kicked out about a month back must have been a wanderer from another colony then, as a few people suggested.

I didn't reply to see if our colony were normal, I replied out of interest. As I am very new to bee keeping I found it interesting to see the variation across the country. It is interesting to see that colonies much further south than us are having their clear out already. Different circumstances, climate etc, I suppose.

 

[drstitson]

as one year ends another begins

So - as the forage tails off we get the drones kicked out and big drop off in laying by the queen.

BUt what is the stimulus for her to get laying again in mid-late winter? increasing light levels? surely not temperature?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Pollen.

 

[drstitson]

pollen

stored or foraged? obvious am aware of the use of pollen substitute to encourage laying but what is the natural source at that time of year - wilting Poinsettias on windowsills????

 

[Hivemaker.]

wilting Poinsettias on windowsills????

Do they yield enough pollen would you think.

 

[Luna]

Our drones have been given the heave-how last weekend, it was sad to see them being kicked out and left to die on the path leading away from the front of the hive.

RIP Mr Drones

I live just outside Llanelli, South Wales