Huge drones

[Michael Bush]

I guess I remember this from last year too, but I don't think there is a fixed proportion of workers to drones to queens with small cell bees. The drones look HUGE next to the small cell bees. I don't think they are any smaller at all. Same with queens. I have plenty of fat queens raised by small cell bees.

[dickm]

I had some Carniolan drones last year that scared me, they were so huge. I thought they were some kind of an enemy bee. I observed them going in and out of the hives with nobody even noticing them. (Guards, I mean). They were around a few weeks in spring and dissapeared. I assume a few eggs got laid in some huge cells.

Dickm

[This message has been edited by dickm (edited April 28, 2004).]

[Michael Bush]

These are Carni's also. They are monstrous! But I thought maybe it was an illusion because of the small cell bees.

[Scot Mc Pherson]

The drones in my hives are giant too. Now keep in mind all the bees in my hives are still from the small cell packages I bought, with the first bees to emerge in the next few days here. But the drones ARE GIANT from what I remember. I have not a ton of drone comb. Its the first comb the queens started laying in. I wonder why that is? Is that typical from what you guys have seen in foundationless hives?

[Michael Bush]

They always seem to build some of each.

[Keith Benson]

I think every colony will have a few - they may be the ones reared in cells built where there is no foundation - but I honestly dn't know. The drones from my TBH were no larger/smaller than those in my Langs.

There were some cruising into one of my hives on small cell that sounded like a helicopter landing.

Keith