January drones?

bobsim · January 30, 2017, 04:42:43 PM

Hi Folks,

Can anyone tell if these are new or old drones? I can't tell and I have had a few drones in the colony since last year.

I noticed a few bees in the grass and picked these up. They seemed to be chilled, after a few minutes they got active and climbed back into the hive.

My thinking is if they're new I need to focus on splitting. ? Tomorrow should be in the upper 60's here so I can open them up and see what's going on in there.

stanisr · January 30, 2017, 04:53:35 PM

Before splitting, I would perform an inspection of the hive to determine if drone brood is present, strength of the hive, and general health of the hive. Then decide if splitting is the correct thing to do.

sc-bee · January 30, 2017, 08:26:55 PM

Quote from: bobsim on January 30, 2017, 04:42:43 PM

Hi Folks,

Can anyone tell if these are new or old drones? I can't tell and I have had a few drones in the colony since last year.

I noticed a few bees in the grass and picked these up. They seemed to be chilled, after a few minutes they got active and climbed back into the hive.

My thinking is if they're new I need to focus on splitting. ? Tomorrow should be in the upper 60's here so I can open them up and see what's going on in there.

No drone BROOD no split...

tjc1 · January 30, 2017, 08:42:23 PM

Why is new drone brood a sign to split?

tejones121 · January 30, 2017, 08:57:57 PM

Hives produce drones for the sole purpose of reproduction. No drone brood means no drones. No drones means queens don't get mated. Even if there are a few old, half dead, crusty drones left over from last season, they're not going to be able to do anything for a queen.

cao · January 30, 2017, 09:37:09 PM

They look fuzzy to me. So I would say that they are new.

Also drone brood is a sign that the hive is getting prepared for the possibility of swarming. As long as they have a good laying queen, they won't produce drones until they have the resources and the numbers to swarm. So if you see drone brood then you have a hive that is close to swarming anyway.

sc-bee · January 30, 2017, 10:29:20 PM

Quote from: tjc1 on January 30, 2017, 08:42:23 PM
Why is new drone brood a sign to split?

Purple eyed drone pupae is usually the sign. By the 15-16 days for a queen to emerged the purple eyed drones will have emerged. I personally like to see emerged drones and drone brood.

Why drone brood... well drones can hang over from season to season but old drones and I would not think enough to form a DCA. Plus when you split not only do you need mate-able drones but resources to feed extra royal jelly etc. Most of it is usually at the peak of season or just prior to peak...

You can also pop a drone to see if HE is ready... not ready left... ready right

sc-bee · January 30, 2017, 10:30:37 PM

Quote from: tjc1 on January 30, 2017, 08:42:23 PM
Why is new drone brood a sign to split?

Unless you are purchasing a queen and don't need drones.....like form deep South parts. Original poster is in Jacksonville Florida season could be early or close. Bees packages and queens I am aware of coming out of South Georgia first shipment is March 19... could be some earlier.

GSF · January 31, 2017, 08:22:45 AM

Even if there are a few old, half dead, crusty drones left over from last season, they're not going to be able to do anything for a queen

I resent that remark..,lol

On the dark side of things, you may have a laying worker hive if you're seeing a lot of drones around. Like it's been said; you being down there it could very well be that your swarming season is about to start.

mtnb · January 31, 2017, 11:06:30 AM

Pop a drone. Love it! That is very helpful information sc-bee. Thank you!
I have yet to see those purple eyes. This year I'll remember to look for them.
Gsf, you're too funny :)

BeeMaster2 · January 31, 2017, 12:46:19 PM

Bob,
I heard at the last club meeting that someone had drones in their hives. I have not seen one coming out of my hives yet. As mentioned, you may have a laying worker. I do expect the queens to start laying drones any day now. Being they were on the grass, your bees are probably kicking them out.
Jim

bobsim · January 31, 2017, 04:17:17 PM

Thanks everybody. I waited to reply until I opened the hive today. I knew when I went out back they were new drones, could hear the buzzing about 20 feet away.

Here's some pics and all are one side of a bar, I didn't take pictures of both sides but they're all typical. Pretty much drone city and lots of drone brood too. I had the same thing happen last year, lots of early drones in fact drones were in the hive all year but nothing like these early numbers.

I did a walk away split because the hive was packed and I don't want to loose any of these bees. Hopefully it wasn't too early, time will tell eh?

Oh yeah, Jim, When you visited and mentioned I should pull some of that honey you were right. There was way too much in there in fact the brood area seemed crowded to me. I left 3 full bars of honey in each split and took 4 for myself. There was half a bar of nectar too, yeah, this time of year.

So if y'all keep your fingers crossed for me I'd appreciate it. Crazy early for a split eh?

Thanks again!

BeeMaster2 · January 31, 2017, 09:19:27 PM

Bob,
It looks good. If other hives in our area are like yours, you should not have any problems splitting the hive, especially if the weather stays pretty much the same or warmer.
Jim