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Author Topic: Why so many drones in this hive?  (Read 4344 times)

Offline tjc1

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Why so many drones in this hive?
« on: July 31, 2013, 12:36:40 am »
Our school hive (new package this spring) swarmed in early July. In the intervening period, the hive has had loads of drones. I checked today and the new queen has been laying at a good rate for the past week, but there are still loads of drones wandering around (I notice that none of the new brood is drone brood...). Why so many, and why don't the workers kick them out; they are pretty low on resources after the swarm. Did workers start to lay between the swarm and the maturing of the new queen? For sure there was very little brood in the hive after the swarm.

Offline Finski

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Re: Why so many drones in this hive?
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2013, 02:12:41 am »
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If you let them to do natural combs

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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Why so many drones in this hive?
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2013, 06:49:23 am »
If the hive thinks they are in good condition and have a good source of food, they will produce drones. It is a good sign of a strong hive. When the flow stops they will kick them out. Since you have a good queen, laying workers, I would not worry about it. My OB hive was prepping to swarm and produced a lot of drones. I removed 4 frames of capped honey and replaced them with foundation. I left the2 uncapped frames of honey in the hive. They stopped making drones but they are still letting them stay because there because there is a good flow on. They have filled 2 frames back up with honey, one of them is now a brood frame, one is empty, did all this in a what was a 2 deep brood frame hive while feeding the drones.
Jim
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Online Michael Bush

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Re: Why so many drones in this hive?
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2013, 10:14:09 am »
Drones drift to hives that will accept them.  Hives without a laying queen tend to attract drones.  You only recently got a laying queen again.  25% drones is in the range of a natural ratio.  That is usually the peak.  It goes back down when they don't need so many drones.
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Offline tjc1

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Re: Why so many drones in this hive?
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2013, 07:14:06 pm »
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If you let them to do natural combs

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Finski, why would that be the case? Why would they make more drone comb/drones just because of the natural comb?

Offline Finski

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Re: Why so many drones in this hive?
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2013, 06:36:23 am »


Finski, why would that be the case? Why would they make more drone comb/drones just because of the natural comb?

They really do even if Michael claims that they dont. Natural comb religious do not believe that. But vain to debate with them.

20% drone brood makes a serious hole into the hive's honey yield.

The effect of drone comb on a honey bee colony's production of honey
Thomas D. Seeley


Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA  
(Received 15 May 2001; revised 28 August 2001; accepted 16 November 2001)

 Abstract
 This study examined the impact on a colony's honey production of providing it with a natural amount (20%) of drone comb. Over 3 summers, for the period mid May to late August, I measured the weight gains of 10 colonies, 5 with drone comb and 5 without it. Colonies with drone comb gained only 25.2 +/- 16.0 kg whereas those without drone comb gained 48.8 +/- 14.8 kg. Colonies with drone comb also had a higher mean rate of drone flights and a lower incidence of drone comb building. The lower honey yield of colonies with drone comb apparently arises, at least in part, because drone comb fosters drone rearing and the rearing and maintenance of drones is costly. I suggest that providing colonies with drone comb, as part of a program of controlling Varroa destructor without pesticides, may still be desirable since killing drone brood to kill mites may largely eliminate the negative effect of drone comb on honey yields.


Yield was about 100% bigger.
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« Last Edit: August 03, 2013, 06:46:35 am by Finski »
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Offline Santa Caras

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Re: Why so many drones in this hive?
« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2013, 05:54:42 pm »
It shouldnt ALWAYS be about the honey.
The bees will work it out in the end.