I’m about to drop a bombshell on you.
You know how bees lay eggs to create worker bees, right?
Well, I have a crazy fact for you.
Drone bees are created differently.
The Difference is Actually Crazzzzzy
You see, worker bees are created when a queen lays eggs in a normal cell in the honeycomb.
But drone bees are created when a queen lays eggs in drone cells.
Yes. You heard that right.
There are special cells in the honeycomb that are designed just for creating drones.
You can spot them easily, because they’re bigger than the other cells.
Also, they’re more round than the hexagonal worker cells that surround them.
So, if you see a bunch of cells that are larger and more round than the others, then you’ve just found yourself a drone comb.
Drone Brood is Easy to Spot
Drone brood is actually really easy to spot because of how large it is.
You see, worker brood is pretty much the same size as the cell it’s in, because it grows to fill up the entire cell as it develops.
But drone brood is different.
When a queen lays an egg in a drone cell, the egg is laid right at the bottom of the cell, and the drone brood develops from there.
This means that drone brood is always the same size as the cell it’s in, and that it sticks out of the cell quite a bit.
So, if you see a bunch of cells that have a little golf tee sticking out of them, then you’ve found a drone comb.
Why Do Bees Create Drone Brood?
You might be wondering why bees create drone brood, since they can’t do anything useful for the hive.
Worker bees are the ones who go out and collect nectar and pollen, and they’re also the ones who build the honeycomb and do all the other jobs in the hive like taking care of the brood.
Drones, on the other hand, don’t do anything at all.
The only purpose of drones is to mate with the queen.
Their sole purpose in life is to fly around and find a queen to mate with, and, if they’re lucky, to die in the process.
So you can see why drones are a bit of a luxury for the hive.
It costs a lot of resources to raise drones, and they only have one purpose, so if a hive is struggling, they’ll decide that it’s just not worth it, and they’ll kick all the drones out.
Drone brood is difficult to confuse with other things because of how big it is, so learning to recognize it is a really good way to get better at spotting eggs.
The difference is actually pretty subtle, so being able to spot something as big as drone brood is actually a really good way to make spotting eggs easier, since it gives you a point of reference.