Every year on international women's day we post to recognise and honour the queen/female bees, with today (19th November) being International Men's day, we thought it's about time we did the same for the guys of the hive... and so, here's a few interesting and fascinating facts all about male honey bees and bumblebees...
1. Male honey bees and bumblebees are called 'drones' and both exist for the sole purpose of reproduction - to mate with a queen.
2. Drones do not have a role within the colony or nest, they do not forage to feed the tribe, defend or have any maintenance duties.
3. Male bumblebees leave the nest soon after hatching and have a shorter life-span than females - approximately four to five weeks in comparison to six-weeks for females. On average, male honey bees live for around two-months, but this can vary depending upon when and if they mate.
4. Except for when they leave the hive to mate, male honey bees remain in the hive through-out the warmer months, and then are brutally ejected from the hive as the winter approaches.
5. Both male honey bees and bumblebees do not possess a stinger; this is due to the stinger being a modified egg-laying organ - found only in females.
6. Male honey bees are larger than worker bees but smaller than the queen, with a squarish abdomen in comparison to the female's pointed abdomen. Male bumblebees can be distinguished from females by their little yellow moustache.
7. Unlike the male honey bee who dies almost instantly after mating with a queen, a bumblebee drone can engage in mating with multiple queens.
8. Male honey bees mate in mid-air at designated areas called 'drone congregation areas' - getting one chance only to mate in its lifetime. Bumblebees mate with a queen while she is resting on the ground or in vegetation.
9. While both the honey bee and bumblebee drone have similiar dietary needs, the honey bee relies completely upon the worker bees to be fed, whereas, the bumblebee will forage for food but only to feed himself.
10. There are only eight species of male honey bees, while there are over 250 species of bumblebees worldwide.