Facts About Drone Bees Will Surely Amaze And Fascinate A Nature Lover

Honey bees are very interesting insects.

These insects have been both annoying and amusing us for many years now. While some types of honey bees are known widely, there are still others that remain largely unrecognized.

There has always been a lot of buzz about drone bees. But what are they, and what do they do? Drone bees are actually worker bees that have been bred to have no stingers.

Their sole purpose is to mate with the queen bee and then die. They play an important role in the life of a hive, and without them, the hive would not be able to survive. Let's discuss some interesting facts about drone bees!

Contribution Of Drone Bees In The Ecosystem

All three types of honey bees have their own contribution to make within their own colonies. By extension, these bees are also very beneficial for the ecosystem and are even crucial in some ways.

The primary job of honey bees is to make honey. In order to do so, the worker bee population is always at work, trying to find nectar from flowers.

As these bees collect nectar, they visit several flowers and sit on each. In this way, these bees pollinate the flowers and help keep the forest ecosystem's health in proper shape.

On the other hand, most of the eggs that are hatched from fertilized eggs turn into worker bees. These eggs would not be fertilized if not for the drone bees, and hence, one of the most important pollinators of nature would become extinct.

Drone bees are therefore important in keeping bee colonies alive through reproduction. They also help in keeping the inhabitants of the hives comfortable.

The habit of drone bees flying around and visiting many hives allows them to be able to mate with other queen bees. This allows genetic mixing and prolongs the life expectancy of the future honey bee generations.

Types Of Drone Bees

A drone bee is a male bee whose sole purpose is to mate with a queen bee. There are many interesting facts about the drone bee, one of them being that there are no sub-types when it comes to this male member of the beehive.

There are three types of bees in a beehive. We often only talk about queen bees and worker bees, but a third type is called the drone bees.

The queen bee, as we know, is the leader of the colony and is responsible for laying eggs. On the other hand, the worker bee group takes care of all the members of the hive - especially the queen. This is because the queen bee lays eggs which are supposed to be the next generation of the bee family.

Drone bees have one of the most important roles in a beehive, which is mating. These stumpy-looking male bees are born from unfertilized eggs, which means they are haploid.

In other words, unlike other types of bees, which have 32 chromosomes, the drone bees have only 16. These bees do not have a father, given that they are born from unfertilized eggs that are laid in the drone cells.

Drone bees do not look for nectar and do not assist in the honey-making process. They simply wait for the right opportunity to mate with the queen bee.

One of the most interesting facts about drone bees is that they die shortly after mating with a queen. There are no strict mating rules in bee communities, and the queen bee may mate with drones of other colonies.

This is, in fact, a beneficial practice since it allows genetic mixing and makes sure that the set of genes present in the future generations is stronger. This improves the chances of future generations living longer under stressful circumstances.

Since the drone bees do not partake in the nectar collection process, they are often termed lazy bees. However, this is not always true.

Drone bees do work for their colonies. Since they have large wings, drone bees may fly around at rapid speed when the new queen has laid eggs. This cools the beehive down and increases the chances of the eggs surviving and eventually hatching.

Characteristics Of Drone Bees

Drone bees are very interesting insects. They spend most of their time buzzing around and looking for queen honey bees to mate with. Other than that, there is very little that drone bees can do around the honeycombs.

They are born in the drone cells of a beehive. These cells are easily recognizable both to the queen bee and the beekeepers since they are much larger in size.

Apart from this, they are bullet-shaped. Understanding the shape and size of drone cells is important for beekeepers.

Studies show that mites are more likely to feed on drone cells and drone eggs since they take more time to hatch. Furthermore, it also takes a longer duration of time for drone cells to be tapped, which is why mites get ample time to feed.

Other than this, drone bees can be differentiated based on their structure and size. They are mainly similar to queen bees in terms of shape and size. However, they are visibly more stumpy than the queen herself. Drone bees are characterized by their long legs, which are mostly hidden behind the stomach.

They also have a rounded head, which makes the eyes of the insect look as if they were more closely set. The stomachs of drone bees are somewhat square, and their eyes are very large.

Drone bees have such large and striking eyes that they are actually considered to be the discerning factor when it comes to these male bees.

Additionally, drone bees have large wings, which they use to fly around and find a queen to mate with. They may also flap their wings rapidly when the temperatures drop.

This is because after the female bees lay eggs, both fertilized and unfertilized eggs require regulated temperatures. Irrespective of whether a worker bee, queen bee, or drone bee is about to hatch from the egg, extremities of temperatures can cause trouble and may even result in spoilt eggs.

FAQs

Can drone bees sting?

Drone male bees have large and stumpy body, but it does not sting. Drone bees cannot sting in order to defend themselves or their colonies.

The primary purpose of the existence of the drone bee is to mate with a queen bee. It is through this mating process that more bees are produced, and the colony remains functional. However, drone bees are often overlooked since they don't do any other work.

How do drone bees mate?

When a drone bee mates, it dies in the process. The act of mating is very strenuous and requires a lot of energy. As a result, the drone's body cannot handle the strain and dies shortly after mating.

Why do bees attack drone bees?

Bees are known to attack drone bees because they see them as a threat. Drones can interfere with the queen bee's mating process, and if too many drones are present, it can be difficult for the queen to find a mate.

Additionally, the presence of drones can disrupt the hive's organization and cause stress among the bees. For these reasons, bees will often attack or even kill invading drones

How long do drone bees live?

Drone bees typically live for about six weeks. However, their life expectancy can be shortened if they are not able to mate with the queen bee. If a drone bee is not able to mate, it will eventually die.

Additionally, drones that are unable to find food will also die prematurely. Therefore, it is important for drones to have access to plenty of flowers and other sources of food. Otherwise, they will not survive long enough to mate and fulfill their purpose in the hive.

Why are so many drone honey bees always flying?

The primary job of a drone bee is to mate with a queen bee. For this reason, when the mating season is around, drone bees swarm and fly around just so that they can come by a queen bee and mate.

Unlike the worker bee, who has to fly all over the place and find food for the rest of the bee hives, drone bees can afford to simply just fly around the hive.

How to get specific drone forestry bees?

There are many ways to get specific drone forestry bees. You can buy them from a beekeeper or catch them yourself by using traps.

If you decide to catch your own drones, make sure you use the right type of trap and place it in the right location. You also need to be careful not to harm any other types of bees while catching drones. Traps for catching drones vary in size and design, but most of them work on the same principle.

They contain either sugar water or an attractant such as essential oil. When a drone bee smells the attractant, it will fly into the trap where it will be unable to escape.