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Author Topic: Year round drones.  (Read 7954 times)

Offline Mbeck

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Year round drones.
« on: October 04, 2012, 12:12:59 am »
How many months of the year do you have drones flying?

I still have plenty here in Florida and more are being raised.

Offline Mbeck

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Re: Year round drones.
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2012, 08:06:03 am »
How do you encourage a longer production season of drones?

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Year round drones.
« Reply #2 on: October 04, 2012, 01:27:23 pm »
Simple answer is, you don't. Hive strength, food sources, and the weather do.

I still have lots of drones in my hives. That will end as soon as the flow stops.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline AllenF

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Re: Year round drones.
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2012, 08:37:52 pm »
Drones do not do a hove any good if the bees can not fly in the winter.   Just a drain on the hive.   The hive controls the numbers of drones.   They know what is best. 

Offline Mbeck

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Re: Year round drones.
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2012, 08:34:30 am »
I'll try to encourage and maintain drones production numbers with a bit of pollen pattie and 1:1. Hopefully I can increase the length of time my hives have drones and increase the percentage of my drones flying in the local drone pool.
Bees fly here most everyday in the "winter".

Offline AllenF

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Re: Year round drones.
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2012, 05:54:41 pm »
Keep your patties small.   They are a buffet for the beetles.   

Offline Mbeck

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Re: Year round drones.
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2012, 07:11:30 pm »
The SHB love them and can completely infest any pattie not consumed in a week.
I mix them with HBH lots of sugar and feed only about a golf ball size.

 

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