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-REARING 
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 
