A honeybee colony is defined by the specialized roles of its three members: the single queen, the numerous female worker bees, and the male drones. Each caste has a distinct purpose that collectively ensures the survival and propagation of the superorganism. Worker bees perform nearly all the labor, and the queen is the sole reproductive female. The fate of the male bee is a direct consequence of its specialized function, particularly as seasons change and resources dwindle.
The Identity of the Male Bee
The male honeybee, known as the drone, is distinct from its female counterparts in anatomy and genetic makeup. Drones are larger and bulkier than worker bees, though shorter than the queen. Their most noticeable feature is a pair of massive compound eyes that nearly meet at the top of their head. These large eyes, which contain up to 8,000 facets compared to the worker’s 4,000-5,000, are essential for locating a queen during aerial pursuits.
The drone develops from an unfertilized egg, making it haploid, possessing only one set of 16 chromosomes. Female bees, including workers and the queen, are diploid, carrying two sets of chromosomes. This genetic difference means drones lack the physical and behavioral adaptations for nearly all hive maintenance tasks. They do not have a stinger, cannot forage for nectar or pollen, and rely on worker bees for feeding.
The Primary Purpose: Reproduction
The drone’s existence is devoted almost entirely to mating with a new queen from a different colony. This act takes place outside the hive, typically in specific aerial locations known as Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs). Hundreds or thousands of drones from multiple colonies gather in these spots, sometimes 30 to 130 feet above the ground, waiting for a virgin queen to arrive.
The drones’ large eyes and acute antennae are important for detecting the queen and pursuing her in flight, ensuring only the fastest males succeed. A queen mates with multiple drones during her nuptial flight to secure genetic diversity for her colony. Successful mating is a fatal event for the drone; his reproductive organ detaches during the process, causing him to die shortly after.
The Seasonal Expulsion: Why and When
The answer to whether male bees are kicked out of the hive is yes, driven by the colony’s need for resource conservation. Drones are metabolically expensive because they consume a significantly larger amount of food than worker bees. During peak season, a drone consumes roughly four times the food a worker does, making them a substantial drain on the hive’s stored honey.
A healthy colony may house hundreds of drones, representing 5 to 10% of the total population. This population becomes unviable when the natural nectar flow ends. The expulsion is triggered by the seasonal shift in late summer or early autumn when forage becomes scarce and temperatures drop. Since mating flights are impossible below approximately 68°F, the drones’ reproductive function ceases. The colony then focuses entirely on hoarding honey for winter survival.
Allowing hundreds of non-foraging drones to remain would consume a substantial portion of the colony’s winter stores, potentially depleting 10 to 20% of the critical reserves needed by the queen and worker bees. Workers, who are the hive’s decision-makers, recognize that the cost of feeding the drones outweighs any future benefit. The removal of the drones is a necessary strategy to ensure the survival of the queen and the thousands of workers who will form the winter cluster.
The Mechanism and Outcome
The process of drone expulsion is a coordinated action carried out by worker bees over two to four weeks. Workers begin by refusing to feed the drones, initiating a starvation diet, and blocking access to stored honey. Workers also remove immature drone brood, uncapping the cells and discarding the larvae and pupae to terminate the drone production cycle.
The final stage involves the physical removal of the adult males. Worker bees actively push and drag the larger drones toward the hive entrance, often by gripping their legs or wings. In some observed instances, workers may bite the drone’s wings to prevent it from flying back to safety or physically throw it from the entrance. The drones, unable to sting or fight back, are prevented from re-entry by the guard bees.
Once expelled, the drones’ fate is sealed because they cannot forage or feed themselves independently. Lacking the ability to regulate their body temperature in the cold or find food, the expelled males quickly succumb to starvation, exposure, or predation. This process ensures that the colony’s remaining resources are reserved solely for the reproductive queen and the worker bees needed to survive the winter and restart the colony the following spring.