While checking on the honeybees I saw this sad drone. He was walking on the landing board as if he was lost. That's probably because he was! This time of year, the female workers are preparing for winter. It's a painstaking process, they have to ready the hive, bring in enough food to get through the cold weather ahead and get rid of the free loaders. These are the Drones! A drones whole purpose in life is to reproduce. They do not forage, clean or work whatsoever in the hive. They are complete free loaders. If you don't do your work you get fired right? Well a little worse fate comes to the Drones, they are either starved out or they are carried out to their deaths! Many workers will darg a drone out, chew off his wings and drop him to his death. The hive can't afford this during the winter cluster so they must be eliminated.
I caught this guy on the landing board (center bee is the drone) going from bee to bee begging for food. Every time he approached the entrance a guard bee would block him.
Here he is trying to convince this bee to feed him but quickly got the cold shoulder. So in conclusion, while it's wonderful to be born in the Spring, get fed, never have to work for it, hang out with other drones all day, get fed again, go to sleep and repeat the process everyday, all good things must come to an end!
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