These male insects develop from eggs that are not fertilized. The eggs are laid by the uterus, sometimes - when it is lost - by working bees. We can say that the drone is a male bee. And he occupies an important and necessary place in the strict hierarchy and "public life" of insects.
Bee family
A bee is a purely social being, and cannot live outside the family. The bee community consists mainly of females who have lost the ability to continue the genus and have become working bees. In the summer of such insects in each hive there are approximately 80 thousand, and in winter less - up to 25 thousand. The family includes one uterus, capable of reproducing offspring and laying eggs, and several hundred drones that perform the inseminating and sometimes protective role. Neither the uterus, nor the drones, nor the working bees, according to scientists, are the "owners" of this community. The leadership function is carried out by the instinct that controls life: each strictly and clearly fulfills his duties, being, as it were, an ideal biological robot.
Uterus
This is the basis, a bee family is grouped around it. The uterus differs from the others in appearance: three times heavier and more than two times longer than an ordinary bee. The young uterus flies out of the hive only once and is fertilized during the course of its flight by several drones at once. After which she returns back to the hive and lives there without any danger for 5-6 years. The old fruitful female either flies away with a part of the bees (swarm), or the young one is killed.
The uterus constantly lays eggs. Up to two thousand per day (weight exceeds its weight), up to two hundred thousand per season! Around her, about ten bees are constantly on duty, feeding them with nourishing milk and caring for her.
Working bees
They are formed from fertilized eggs on the 21st day. A working bee, after hatching from a sealed cell, first looks after the larvae and feeds them, is engaged in the construction of honeycombs, makes its first flights, guided by its location. It also has a watchdog service and receives nectar from collecting bees. At the age of more than 21 days, working bees leave the hive and collect pollen and nectar for the rest of their lives. And they live in the summer - up to three months, and in winter - more than six. Scientists have figured out the cause of death of these hard-working insects - the wear of the wings. As soon as the wings become unusable from constant flights, having lost the ability to fly, the insect leaves the hive and dies. In the ratio “drone - uterus - working bee” this is the most numerous sector. Working bees perform almost all of the many functions in a bee family, except for a few.
Drones
Let's take a closer look at what their functions are in bee society. As already mentioned, a drone is a male bee. Drones hatch from unfertilized eggs laid in special cells (approximately on the 24th day). This phenomenon - reproduction without the participation of a male cell - is called parthenogenesis in science. It allows any female to leave offspring without male participation. It also regulates the numerical sex ratio: from fertilized eggs, females are born, from unfertilized - males or drones (in bees).
Fertilization
A drone is a full-fledged successor to the bee genus, because, ultimately, no individual can be born without its seed. In each bee family there are not so many of them - several hundred. The male becomes sexually mature on the tenth day of his existence. It is distinguished by strength, excellent vision, high aerodynamic abilities. He is also able to determine the location of the female by smell. And yet - the drone eats a lot, and the food brought by the working bees disappears instantly.
What does it look like?
In the afternoon and pre-sunset time, you can observe drones. They fly much faster than ordinary bees, and land heavily. The drone has no sting. The proboscis is short; it cannot sufficiently provide itself with food. He does not have pollen collection brushes. It is larger in size than an ordinary bee, and its body has a rectangular shape. The eyes are just huge. They help to fulfill the main function of the drone - to track the uterus in flight and copulate with it. Fertilizing the female, the drone, as a rule, soon dies. According to many scientists, the drone is a kind of sperm bank, genetic material for the continuation of the bee genus.
