Drones are one of the three types of bees (queen, drones and worker bees), which develop directly from ovum and complete development in the male hive. Under normal circumstances, there are hundreds to thousands of drones in the colony, mainly to mate with the virgin queen bee. Let's take a look at how many drones there are in a box of bees.
1.What is a drones?
Drones are haploid male bees, which develop directly from ovum and complete development in the male hive. Under normal circumstances, there are hundreds to thousands of drones in the colony, which are stronger than workers, darker and more black than workers, and have a nearly round head. The compound eye is larger than that of the worker bee and the queen bee, the antennal flagellum has 11 segments, the wings are broad, the legs are thick and short, stingless needles, wax glands and olfactory glands.
2.Quantitative discussion.
A box of bees normally has hundreds to thousands of drones.Drones are one of the "three types of bees". After mating, drones are not a necessary type. There are hundreds to thousands of drones in a colony, and the specific number varies according to bee species and seasons. For example, in the natural bee division period, the number of drones can reach thousands, there may be only a few dozen in the season when honey sources are scarce, and there may even be no drones in some colonies.
3.Life cycle.
The life span of drones is generally 3-4 months, up to more than 6 onths. They can only mate with the queen bee once in their lifetime. Soon after mating, the drone will die due to the loss of reproductive organs. For the swarm, the drone becomes a burden after successful mating. When the honey source is rich, the worker bee can still put up with these "slackers". Once the food is insufficient, the worker bee will expel or even kill the drones.
4. Cleaning methods.
(1)Drones develop directly from ovum, and can easily destroy or cut off the male hive when checking the colony, which can reduce the feeding work of worker bees and reduce feed consumption.
(2)Drones have a habit of going out in sunny weather. An anti-escape film can be installed at the nest gate from 14:00 to 15:00 in the afternoon, so that drones can not return to the hive. Drones can be killed by repeating two or three times.