Went to the hive today and found at least a hundred dead drones lying outside the hive. The workers seem to be fine. Anyone have this happen to them and if so any theory on why?
Your swarm season is over.
Scott
Ohhh I like that answer...thanks. I feel much less anxious about a possible swarm if the season is over. Thanks.
That doesn't mean that they won't swarm....they can do that all summer...it just means that they major swarm season is over :)
Scott
I've also read that this can be a sign of distress in the hive. I'd check them to make sure their stores of pollen and honey are good. They clear out the drones when they're not going to swarm, when they're prepping for winter, or any other time they need to get rid of the freeloaders. So if they get low on pollen and honey, you could theoretically see it then.
They will also boot drones during a drought believe me it has been ongoing for about 6 weeks here only the realy strong hives have a few drones left. :-D