drone

bee

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June 25, 2026

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A drone bee is the male bee of a honeybee colony. Drones are produced from unfertilized eggs laid by the queen bee. Their sole purpose is to mate with a queen bee. Drones are larger than worker bees but lack stingers. They typically live for a few weeks and are driven from the hive to perish when colder weather arrives or if the colony faces adversity. If a colony becomes queenless and cannot produce a new queen, worker bees may lay eggs that develop into drones. Drones die during the act of mating with a queen.1234

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chromosome number
…haploid; an example is a drone (a male bee).
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…haploid; an example is a drone (a male bee).
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reproductive behaviour
Group care
The males (drones) are haploid; that is, they have only half the genes possessed by the queen, all of them derived from the mother. A queen produces eggs fertilized by sperm she has retained in her body from the mating flight; thus the individuals produced are diploid,…
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The males (drones) are haploid; that is, they have only half the genes possessed by the queen, all of them derived from the mother. A queen produces eggs fertilized by sperm she has retained in her body from the mating flight; thus the individuals produced are diploid,…
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honeybee
Honeybee sexes and castes
The males, or drones, are larger than the workers and are present only in early summer. The workers and queens have stingers, whereas the drones are stingless.
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The males, or drones, are larger than the workers and are present only in early summer. The workers and queens have stingers, whereas the drones are stingless.
Read More