I was checking out my hive yesterday and noted about 10 or 15 drones flying around but very few workers flying. I thought that the drones were to be killed off in the fall/winter. Is the presence of the drones in winter the indication of anything?
By the way these drones are very big. I don't have much experience but they larger then the drones I saw in the summer and they are very loud.
Hi Mate, Im in the other part of the world but I too notice I have huge drones atm, maybe its to do with honey flow or something, whatever the reason, they sure are big!
Queenless hives tend to tolerate drones more than queenright ones. The feral stock I have always keeps a few drones all winter. Drones vary GREATLY in size and can run anywhere from almost the size of a worker to three times that size.
Are there other signs that they might be queenless? If they are what happens now? Do I just buy them a new queen in the spring? I was planning on getting a new queen anyway just to try to get a good start for the year.
>Are there other signs that they might be queenless?
Many. Queenless hives tend to shrink through the winter as the workers drift to queenright hives. Queenless hives tend to have a dissonant "roar" to them as opposed to the happy hum of a healthy hive.
> If they are what happens now?
If they are they will probably dwindle to nothing before the winter is over.
> Do I just buy them a new queen in the spring?
If there are still enough bees left, sure.
> I was planning on getting a new queen anyway just to try to get a good start for the year.
If you HAVE a good queen, I'd keep her. If not, I'd replace her.