drone bees
Hive's male contingent
Drone bees are the male members of a honeybee colony, whose primary function is to mate with a queen.
They develop from unfertilized eggs and lack stingers, pollen baskets, and wax glands, making them unable to forage or defend the hive.
Drones are larger than worker bees but do no productive work in the colony.
After mating season ends, workers typically expel drones from the hive to conserve resources for winter.
- hiveBee dwelling structure
- workerPerson who toils
- virgin queenUnmated future hive ruler
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- maleSperm-producing sex
mating · swarm · honey · buzz · stinger · lazy · expendable · kicked out · flight · summer · comb · apiary · fertilize · loafer · eyes · antenna · wings · brood
drone beesworker bees
Hive's female laborers
queen bee · workers · queen · worker caste
drone, bee, drones, droning, droned, bees, beeswax, beehive, beekeeping