The idleness of drones

Idling drones.

I never realised that drones could be quite so idle!

Every day, in the middle of a frame in the observation hive is a cluster of drones, twenty, thirty, sometimes more … sitting or perhaps standing (I don’t know which) doing absolutely nothing — except maybe keeping some brood warm.

Meanwhile, the workers scurry around them, only stopping to bury their heads in cells to clean them out.

The Queen, which I usually see as a fast-mover in an opened apiary hive, ambles about in the observation hive and can be surprisingly difficult to spot. If she happens to be laying an egg, I cannot see her abdomen, so she remains virtually invisible.

Today, the first batch of worker brood has emerged, so the hive is looking much more populous already.

The summer nectar flow appears to be over, so as the hive increases in population I wouldn’t be surprised to see a queen cell or two appear soon.

Update: Idelness explained

Turlough, Vita’s Guest Beekeeper Blogger