these were some of the unfortunate boys in our hive full of girls. they have a single purpose, to mate with a queen, and then, their usefulness exhausted, they are expelled from the hive in the fall and not allowed to re-enter. it is a long, cold winter, and there is only just enough honey. generosity is an extravagance.

dead drone honey bees

collected outside the door of our backyard hive, saint paul, minnesota