White drone (photo)

[keith pierce]

A picture of a white Drone i came across last year in one of my hives. First time I ever seen one

 

[bjosephd]

A picture of a white Drone i came across last year in one of my hives. First time I ever seen one

Does that mean there is a minute possibility of raising a white queen?

Or is the Drone just poorly?

BJD

 

[wightbees]

Albino?

 

[bjosephd]

Albino?

The breeding challenge is on... the mystical White Bee of Ireland!

 

[charlievictorbravo]

The breeding challenge is on... the mystical White Bee of Ireland!

No - it's possibly just a survivor of somebody's queen-marking practice using drones.

CVB

 

[thenovice]

looks like a drone that just hatched and needs its exoskeleton to harden still.

 

[Fusion_power]

The eyes are black which indicates it is a leucistic drone. Potentially, it could be used for breeding and possibly a pale queen could be produced. It would be very interesting to see how this combines with the cordovan gene.

 

[keith pierce]

someone told me somewhere that albino insects dont get pink eyes due to an insects eyes been a completely different structure.

 

[Erichalfbee]

someone told me somewhere that albino insects dont get pink eyes due to an insects eyes been a completely different structure.

Albino eyes are pink because the blood vessels are reflected. Some albino animals that normally have a coloured reflective layer can show blue or green eyes.
Bees don't have blood vessels in their eyes

 

[linoleum bonypart]

I saw an albino pheasant the other week

 

[Fusion_power]

Color mutant drones I have seen had a variation in eye color, usually a deep red or brown instead of black. The drone pictured has black eyes suggesting an exoskeleton affecting mutation as compared with a general pigment mutation.

It would be interesting to see if that colony produces more drones with similar color this year. This could still just be a newly emerged drone that will darken with time.

 

[keith pierce]

Another mutant from a few years ago

 

[ianf]

A picture of a white Drone i came across last year in one of my hives. First time I ever seen one

I have seen a couple of white eyed drones, over the last few years, but never a complete white drone. The white eyed drones are blind due to a genetic mutation.