Beekeeping is such a fascinating adventure! For the first time, I got a chance to watch our bee hive kicking out the male bees, called drones, for winter. Drones are larger than the female worker bees, with huge eyes and abdomens thickly banded in black. Two drones are visible in the first image, one to the top left beatings his wings in take-off and one at the left of the entrance, facing into the hive. Their primary focus is mating with a queen to spread their genes (and the hive’s genes) to the offspring she produces. A queen will mate with 10-20 drones (of 100s-1000s in the drone congregation!) during her mating flight, each successful drone contributing to the genetic diversity of her hive. But when temperatures begin to drop, hives prepares by getting rid of extra mouths to feed. In the 2nd image, the large, dark abdomen of a drone can be seen at the left side of the entrance. Two workers are attacking him, one stinging. None of the stings seemed fatal for any involved, as none of the workers’ stings penetrated the drones’ exoskeletons. Nonetheless, the message was clear: drones are no longer welcome in our hive! There were male bodies littering the ground the next day. #beekeeping #apiculture #thehive #bee #honeybee #bug #insect #pollinators #arizona #ponderosapineforest #nature #naturephotography #natureishappiness #relationshipswithnature #fall #transition #life #death (at Arizona)
