86 Beekeeping 



KILLING OF THE DRONES 



At the close of the honey-flow and after the swarming 

 season, the drones are driven from the hive. They are 

 not stung to death as is commonly reported. The first 

 indication of the exodus of the drones is that numbers of 

 them are seen on the bottom board or around the entrance. 

 There is some evidence that before removal the drones 

 are starved, they normally being fed by the workers and 

 not taking food directly from the stores. Then the worker 

 bees drag them out one by one and fly away, dropping 

 them some distance from the hive. This driving out of 

 the drones is more marked in the northern regions where 

 the main honey-flow usually ceases abruptly. If a colony 

 is queenless the drones may be retained, some of them often 

 living into the winter and, even in normal colonies, a few 

 drones are sometimes retained for a time. The cause of 

 the driving out of the drones in most cases and their reten- 

 tion under some conditions is so far not satisfactorily ex- 

 plained. 



THE END OF BROOD-BEARING 



Where winter occurs brood-rearing ceases in the autumn, 

 while in the tropics brood is reared constantly, unless it is 

 discontinued by a dearth. Cessation of brood-rearing is 

 therefore not a necessary occurrence in the annual cycle. 

 It was shown earlier that the reduction in egg-laying begins 

 with the cutting off of the nectar-flow. When the days 

 become cold, brood is no longer reared and finally the last 

 of the brood emerges leaving the colony without brood for 

 most of the winter, provided it remains normal. The last 

 eggs laid may be removed by the workers before they hatch, 

 or larvae and pupae may be carried out. 



In seeking an explanation of the stoppage in brood-rearing, 

 one becomes involved in some difficulties. In the first place, 

 various races of bees differ in regard to the amount and 

 continuance of brood-rearing in the autumn. Italian bees 



