THE DRONE 97 



In neglected apiaries it is not uncommon to find hives with 

 from one-fourth to more than one-half of the comb surface com- 

 posed of drone cells. This insures tliat a large number of drones 

 will be reared during the active season. A surplus of drones 

 who are loafers and consumers instead of producers will turn 

 what might have been a profitable colony into a non-producer, 

 or even one that will require feed to winter successfully. 



These male bees consume quantities of stores, not only during 

 the period of their development, but in the mature state as well. 

 They are helpless fellows, not even able to feed themselves. 



The drone is much larger and heavier in appearance than a 

 worker. He has aptly been called a corpulent fellow. He has 

 no sting and flies with a large buzz, which tends to frighten the 

 novice who is unable to recognize his true character. The period 

 of development is longer than that of either the queen or the 

 worker. Three days is the period required for the egg to hatch 

 as with the others. About seven days are spent in the larval 

 period, and fourteen days elapse from the time the cells are 

 sealed until the transformation is complete. 



The act of copulation is fatal to the drone. As previously 

 stated, the organs of generation remain attached to the queen for 

 several hours, until the entire supply of seminal fluid enters 

 the sac of the queen. After this is accomplished the attendant 

 workers remove the parts from her. 



The life term of the drone is very uncertain. If conditions are 

 favorable he may live for several weeks, or maybe months, until 

 by chance his life is terminated by meeting with a queen, or 

 perhaps by accident. Otherwise he may live until the close 

 of the honey harvest leads his provident sisters to accomplish 

 his destruction. While the worker may sometimes sting the 

 drones to death, it seems to be more often accomplished by sim- 

 ply refusing to provide them with food, and by driving them 

 from the hive when they soon perish. 



Drone traps are on the market to enable the bee-keeper to 

 reduce the number of boarders in the hives. However, it is much 

 7 



