bees ripping out drones

[trapperbob]

As the heading says my italians are ripping open drone cells and dragging them out. They are not taking out worker cells just drones. A while back I treated them for mites (They were really heavy) and the mit fall seems to have subsided to exceptable levels (have not seen any on the mite boards yet) but did notice that some of the drones not all had deformed wings. I can understand them getting rid of those but the others look just fine to my eyes anyway. Some of the drones look ready to hatch out of the comb and others are pupae. Could this be a hygenic response since mites tend to gravitate to drones? could the bees bee detecting this and doing something about it? I'm not to worried but am very curios.

[Aisha]

If you are lucky they are detecting mite infested drones and removing them. My Italians do too.

Here's a photo of one of the girls dragging away a drone larvae. Those larvae are hefty and it sometimes takes some work to drag them across the ground.

[Lucus76]

have you had a snap of cold weather? if so they will often thin out the drone stock in preparation for a potential food shortage.
Hygienic behavior is also a possibility

[Dale Hodges]

Yes, the drones are the first to go when food supplies get low.

[Ruben]

I could not imagine my wife digging me out from under the covers and dragging me to the front door and throwing me out, I'd probably be in trouble if she could carry me!

[trapperbob]

We have had some rainy days with cooler weather. Enough so they couldn't fly around so maybe thats it.

[Bucherbees]

Thanks for the photos. They are pretty amazing! I have had my bees for a bit over 2 weeks now and only saw the queens when I hived the packages. It must be experience to be able to see what is going on. Will I learn to see the queen?
Great photos!

[naturebee]

Lucas and Dale, good answers!

Especially when they are unable to collect pollen!
Drone rearing is dependant on a strong supply of pollen.

Joe

[Dave W]

I agree w/ "naturebee, Lucas and Dale" answers.

But . . . lets keep dreaming 'bout the "mite removers".

[dickm]

Aisha,
That's a good teaching picture. Would you mind if I used it in our club newsletter?Thanks,

dickm

[Lucus76]

I could not imagine my wife digging me out from under the covers and dragging me to the front door and throwing me out, I'd probably be in trouble if she could carry me!

When our food supplies get low my wife has no problem kicking me out the front door, then tossing my work boots out after me.

[Bee Draggle]

Aisha,

Wow! Your hive looks more like fine furniture than a bee hive. Nice!

[Aisha]

Aisha,
That's a good teaching picture. Would you mind if I used it in our club newsletter?Thanks,

Not at all. I would be honored. PM me when you publish it. I'd love to see it.

All my photos are open source with permission and credit.

[Aisha]

Aisha,

Wow! Your hive looks more like fine furniture than a bee hive. Nice!

Thanks! I use Minwax stain and Spar Polyurethane. I see the hives right outside my window every day so I like them to look pretty. I just discovered copper nails for the dovetail joints!