Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Terry N on June 17, 2013, 02:37:04 pm

Title: Drones only
Post by: Terry N on June 17, 2013, 02:37:04 pm
I believe that I have drones only....why? Have many ants also.
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Duane on June 17, 2013, 04:17:25 pm
From what I've read, a question to ask would be, do you have a queen?  Otherwise, maybe the queen is faulty?
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Terry N on June 17, 2013, 05:06:38 pm
Not sure i have a queen but activity picking up more thought there might be 1 coming?
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: RC on June 17, 2013, 05:08:16 pm
Can you post a picture? A colony of drones only couldn't survive very long.
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Michael Bush on June 18, 2013, 12:23:02 pm
>I believe that I have drones only....why?

Two possibilities:

1) Drone laying queen (either mated late or ran out of sperm)
2) Laying workers

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespanacea.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beespanacea.htm)
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Terry N on June 18, 2013, 05:26:43 pm
Any recourse Mr. Bush....where does that go this year? You sound like that may be what is happening.
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Michael Bush on June 19, 2013, 11:43:26 am
>Any recourse Mr. Bush....

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespanacea.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beespanacea.htm)
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Gametracker on June 21, 2013, 02:53:27 am
Unless your queen is ancient and out of drone sperm, you probably have no queen and have parthenogenesis taking place where workerbee ovaries have been stimulated to lay.  Since they've never been fertilized...the only eggs they can lay are unfertilized drone eggs.  I've experienced it once when I was a beginner and lost the colony cause I didn't understand what was going on.
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Terry N on June 21, 2013, 04:13:45 pm
All sounds logical to my situation, I notice more dead bees as though there was territorial fighting for the hive.?
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Michael Bush on June 24, 2013, 12:17:00 pm
>All sounds logical to my situation, I notice more dead bees as though there was territorial fighting for the hive.?

Queenless hives are prone to being robbed.  Queenless hives lead to weak hives and weak hives are also prone to getting robbed.

http://bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm (http://bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm)
Title: Re: Drones only
Post by: Gametracker on June 24, 2013, 12:31:23 pm
Queenless hives are prone to being robbed.  Queenless hives lead to weak hives and weak hives are also prone to getting robbed.

http://bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm (http://bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm)

Absolutely right!