Fall Death Rates of Drone Honey Bees

Worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L., physically pursue and drive drones out of the hive in the late summer and fall months, but the fall discharge of drones is a slow process. Drones persist long after drone brood rearing ceases; “American” bees seem uniform in this regard. Fall drone discharge is speeded up and is more dramatic under starvation conditions, but it still takes many weeks.