drones flying today

[Edgy]

Temp is in the single digits at night and teens in the day. One hive is actively flying drones and I am pretty sure I saw a dead queen on the landing board. What do you think doomed hive or will they make it?  Lots of bees and two deeps full. drones flying in those temps seems a bit crazy.

[BlueBee]

Flying in the teens is certainly abnormal.  I’m assuming your hive is pretty warm for some reason?  Agitated?  Super insulated maybe?  I’ve had snow drones in healthy hives many times, but they don’t normally fly in the teens unless the hive is excessively warm.  Hives will also heat up is they’re agitated by something; blocked entrances, mice, etc.  Its a good idea to look for an obvious problem like mice or blocked entrances.

As for the dead queen, I wouldn’t count the hive out yet.  I’ve seen a queen abscond from a failing nuc and try to get into another hive.  Could be something like that.  Not much you can do about it now until spring.

[Eric Bosworth]

Are the temps your talking about in Fahrenheit or Centigrade? I can't imagine that they would survive at all outside the hive in the teens Fahrenheit.