When drones rise swarms follow
Swarming begins long before the beekeeper notices queen cells. When I look back now, i realise that the bees had been warning us for weeks already. During our first full inspections early in the spring, the colonies were absolutely booming heavy brood nests, healthy winter survivors and something else that immediately caught my attention: beautiful arches of drone brood appearing low on the brood frames. That is always one of the first whispers of spring reproduction beginning. And there is something fascinating about where bees place those early drones. In the earlier stages of colony buildup, I often notice drone brood concentrated at the lower part of the brood area. This makes biological sense. If sudden cold weather returns, the colony can sacrifice the lower peripheral brood more easily while protecting the worker brood higher up in the cluster where warmth is more stable. Later in the season, once temperatures settle and colonies become stronger, I usually find drone brood ...