Drones

[Paekes]

Hi was wondering if anyone else has noticed drones still entering their hives this late on ? I have been adding fondant today just as insurance and I am still seeing drone entering which I have seen every visit I make and it is not just the one hive but several and I have have read that it could be a sign of a queenless hive but i hope it would be unlikely to have several hives q- I hope maybe someone can advise on this .

 

[Matt77]

I had drones still in all 4 of my colonies this time year. All were fine come spring. I shouldn't worry too much, there's not a fat lot you can do anyway.

 

[bontbee]

Last year a couple of my colonies overwintered with drones - the colonies and drones survived the winter and went on well. (The only colony I lost was drone-less going into winter). Not a sufficient amount of data, so doesn't prove anything, except drones do overwinter in Q+ colonies!! Try not to dwell on it - as Matt says, there's nowt you can really do til next season. Let us know what you find in the spring.

 

[Millet]

If it was my hive i would be worried , i'm clueless by the way but the last thing i want to see is loads of drones flying in and out, i had a laying worker earlier on in the year and i think i would be in this situation now if i did not sort the problem out.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Last year a couple of my colonies overwintered with drones - the colonies and drones survived the winter and went on well. (The only colony I lost was drone-less going into winter). Not a sufficient amount of data, so doesn't prove anything, except drones do overwinter in Q+ colonies!! Try not to dwell on it - as Matt says, there's nowt you can really do til next season. Let us know what you find in the spring.

Although we will probably get the usual 'expert' on here telling you exactly what is going on in there, and it will all be bad!! A lot of healthy colonies carry a few drones through the winter, and yes, some are in tgrouble with drone laying queensbut unless you have a spare stack of mini nucs with mated queens held back for such an eventuality, not much you can do about it, certainly not lose any sleep!

 

[Noddy]

I have six drones, ranging from a 1m octocopter to a 250mm quadcopter, non of them fit through the hive entrance though

 

[Paekes]

Thanks for replies and appreciate your help It isn't that I'm worried and realise I will have to wait till spring to find but I just found it unusual to see drones active this late on in season as it will be December in 4 days. What are people's views on the seasons changing so much now and the milder weather we are getting is altering the way bees are behaving?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What are people's views on the seasons changing so much now and the milder weather we are getting is altering the way bees are behaving?

Bees adapt their behaviour to suit their environment. Why would they do anything else? That's how they have survived millennia

 

[REDWOOD]

Looking at weather patterns over the last 30 year nothing has changed much


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[Gilberdyke John]

Thanks for replies and appreciate your help It isn't that I'm worried and realise I will have to wait till spring to find but I just found it unusual to see drones active this late on in season as it will be December in 4 days. What are people's views on the seasons changing so much now and the milder weather we are getting is altering the way bees are behaving?

We still have a way to go until we get to the medieval warm period temperatures or grow grapes in the North like the Romans did. Bees coped just fine.

 

[Tom Bick]

I would be asking myself what size are the drones? Are they the big drones I am used to seeing during the season or do they look smaller or noticeably smaller.