Glossary
A comprehensive overview of drone (male) honey bee biology, anatomy, lifecycle, and reproductive role. Drones develop from unfertilized eggs (haploid, containing only 16 chromosomes versus the 32 of workers and queens), have no stinger, cannot forage or feed themselves, and exist solely to mate with virgin queens from other colonies.
Drones are visibly larger than worker bees with enormous compound eyes that meet at the top of the head (worker eyes are separated), a thicker, more rounded body, and no stinger. Their large eyes are adapted for spotting virgin queens in flight at drone congregation areas.
Drone development takes 24 days from egg to adult (versus 21 for workers and 16 for queens). They develop from unfertilized eggs, meaning they carry only their mother's genetics (haploid). This has important implications for bee genetics: a queen passes all her genes to her sons, not just half.
A drone's sole purpose is mating. After reaching sexual maturity at approximately 12 days old, drones fly to drone congregation areas each afternoon, where they compete to mate with visiting virgin queens. Mating occurs in the air at high speed, the drone's endophallus everts explosively during mating, and the drone dies immediately afterward.
Drones that do not mate are tolerated in the colony during spring and summer when resources are abundant. However, as nectar flows end and fall approaches, worker bees forcibly evict drones from the hive, biting their wings and dragging them to the entrance. This drone eviction is a clear sign that the colony is transitioning to winter mode.
A healthy colony maintains several hundred to a few thousand drones during spring and summer (roughly 5-15 percent of the population). The number increases during swarming season and decreases in fall when drones are evicted. Winter colonies have zero drones.
Drones do not forage, make wax, feed brood, guard the entrance, or perform any task other than mating. They must be fed by worker bees throughout their adult lives. However, their thermal mass may contribute slightly to hive temperature regulation.
Drones consume resources (honey) without contributing to colony survival. Keeping drones through winter would be an unnecessary drain on limited food stores. Workers evict drones before winter, and new drones are raised from fresh eggs the following spring.
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