drone bee
Stingless colony member
A drone bee is a male honeybee whose sole function is to mate with a queen.
Drones have no stinger and do no work—they don't gather nectar, produce honey, or defend the hive.
After mating season, surviving drones are typically expelled from the hive to die.
The term reinforces the figurative sense of *drone* as someone who lives off others' labor.
- maleSperm-producing sex
- hiveBee dwelling structure
- hive mindUnified group consciousness
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- stingerVenom-injecting body part
lazy · colony · honeybee · swarm · buzzing · royal jelly · wax · comb · larvae · apiary · flight · useless · dead weight · expendable · fertile · ejected · autumn · short lifespan
- insect castesqueen ant, worker ant, soldier ant, worker, soldier
- beeshoneybee, bumblebee, honeybees, bumblebees, Melitta
- short-lived creaturesmayfly, fruit fly, gnat, mosquito, housefly
- beekeepingbeekeeping, apiculture, hive, apiary, apiaries
- bug keepingant farm, insectarium, butterfly house, stick insect, hive
- livestockcow, cows, cattle, bull, bulls