# No drones being seen



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Not seen much in the way of drones. In one hive I checked recently I saw 2 drones but no drone brood. 
It is a bity early here for that. Normal not seeing them after about mid Sept to Mid Oct. Last year there were still drones about in mid Nov.


 Al


----------



## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Al, What does this mean to you? Is this an indication of an early and rough winter? We've sure seen other signs, like trees already turning and spiders coming into the house. Heck, we're already getting those nasty beetles and they normally only swarm after harvest!
Catherine


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Not seeing drones at this time of year means I am not raising any more queens for a fall requeening. 
It also means there is a dreath on nectar flow, so the workers are not going to waste one drop on feeding a lazy old drone.
It also means a lot of winter dead outs for those who are not on top of the signs and prepaired to feed the girls and put candy boards on this fall too.

Asters are not yet open so we wait with abated breath for rain so they produce nectar. We pray for a long indian summer with the Asters blooming again and again.

 Al


----------



## FrankRichards (Dec 9, 2004)

Now that you mention it, I saw few to no drones on Monday either. However our historical first killing frost is about September 15, so a mating flight now would be sheer desperation, a queenless hive looking for a laying worker's drone.

However, everything I see (and NOAA as well) says we get two more weeks in the fall to match the two extra in the spring. I'm so ready for global warming to put me in zone 5 instead of zone 4.


----------

