# Who's got drones



## beenut46 (Nov 12, 2011)

Plenty in South Texas ,going to start grafting this week. I should have started 2 weeks ago,but just now getting enough brood to split.


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

We have had plenty of drones here in North Florida. BUT, we haven't had very good mating weather yet this year. I've got some queens that should be mating this week and the forecast is not looking good.


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## kramerbryan (Oct 30, 2013)

I've had drones in Washington all winter.


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## beesohappy (Jun 3, 2009)

I'm seeing good numbers in my larger hives. Their sitting in almonds down in Hughson CA now but before that they were sitting in Lockford CA.


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## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

I am in south Arkansas and saw lots of capped drone brood last week.


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## theriverhawk (Jun 5, 2009)

None in North Alabama yet. Going to start putting the feed on them heavy next week. That should help them get going.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Had drones all winter in natural comb hives and plenty of good weather and very little rain.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

I am a bit north of you. No drones flying around my hives yet. None seen over winter.



kramerbryan said:


> I've had drones in Washington all winter.


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## georgiabees (Feb 2, 2010)

Lot's of early drones mid and south Georgia yards from heavy winter feeding for large expansion split plans. 
Weather not good for queens rearing thou, 
Three story deeps very strong with Apivar mite control for 1st time in years VERY low winter loss.


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

A dozen miles inland from the Left Coast, except for November and part of December, I had drones most of the Fall and Winter.


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## timgoodin (Mar 10, 2007)

None is my hives in west Kentucky yet. Checked yesterday. Brood coming along very well but no drone cells yet. Probably be a couple more weeks until my queens start on those cells. Just now getting pollen and a little early nectar flow.


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## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

Plenty in Houston also, with more emerging. I caught a swarm on 3-4 that had drones with it.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Not much here. I have a few stragglers from last year, and some very young drone brood, but not much else. Very late start this year.


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## Ryan Williamson (Feb 28, 2012)

Went through 59 hives yesterday and did not see a single one  I'm near Charlottesville VA


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

kramerbryan said:


> I've had drones in Washington all winter.


South of you here in Portland Oregon, I pulled off the sugar and had drones! I was shocked at first but it was common in about 9 of the hives I went though. I had a queenless weak hive with a couple of really poor looking Queen cells so I removed the queen cells and gave it two frames of brood, one almost all capped and one with eggs I figured it would give me insurance for a decent drones. (I figure it is 30 days ahead of last year).


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## rdneck (Aug 3, 2014)

not far from you here in sc, went through all three boxes yesterday and saw the queen in the bottom deep, capped drone cells and four drones just hanging out I guess.


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

Tons of mature drones here. Seen/heard a lot of them heading out to DCA's yesterday about 3:30 PM. 

Livermore/Tracy CA


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

A few capped drone brood in all 3 of my full size hives in Smithfield, VA.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Had drones in January, not overwintered ones either.


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## Dunkel (Jun 12, 2009)

No sign here in East KY


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## canoemaker (Feb 19, 2011)

I've got capped drone brood in hives at two different yards in Stuart, VA.


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## SugarbeatCo (Dec 27, 2014)

I saw one drone two days ago. We had record hi temps this last week, way too early for mating flights I presume..


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## tarheit (Mar 26, 2003)

None in NW Ohio. Of course we even haven't had our first maple bloom yet and I didn't see any pollen coming in yet this past weekend when it was in the 60's. Getting reports of pollen in central and southern ohio this past weekend so it won't be long now.


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

Have a few walking on the frames and a handful capped. Central Va. G


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## Tomson (Feb 9, 2015)

We have lots in So. California. All boxes. 

Picture I took for a buddy yesterday.


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

I've had drones for a month, now, but not enough colony strength to raise high-quality queens yet. My two largest colonies are ready this week, but the support colonies were really lagging. 

I moved brood from the strong ones to the weak ones, and newspaper combined bees from a cut-out to the weakest colony. That really worked out well. If I do it again next week, they should all be ready to make excellent queens in the last of the strongest nectar flow. 

We just had a light rain last night that may or may not be enough to make a great year for queen rearing here. If the nectar flow dies off before the bees are up, I'll have to move them up North where the nectar flow is stronger for queen rearing this spring.

If I had gotten to them for feeding more often this winter, I might have been raising queens by now. Oh, the learning curve keeps curving....


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## UTvolshype (Nov 26, 2012)

Lots of capped drone cells here in East Tn. Had to checkerboard two hives that were booming and storing a lot of maple honey + 1:1 feed, two weeks in to the higher temps and four weeks away from standard start of TP flow. No queen cell yet but I expect some within the next 10 days.

Other hives are just starting to get 2 frames full of brood started so it's difficult to go from hive to hive and do the same thing.


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## rkereid (Dec 20, 2009)

We have some capped drone in the mts of SW VA. None emerged yet.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Saw drones out today in Vancoucer Canada and lots of purple drone larvae.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

It's amazing to me that some of you guys have drones yet. I'm down here in the sultry south and I have not seen ONE drone yet in any hive. I do have some capped brood that's far enough along that the cappings are turning dark brown, so I WILL have some soon.

EDIT: I had NO idea that there were places in Canada that were more "tropical" than Alabama. Zone 8 in Canada. Who'd have thunk it, eh?


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

I found large patches of capped drones in all 3 of my larger hives. No queen cells. One overwintered nuc is queenless and broodless, so I moved over a bar of fresh eggs that were laid yesterday on soft, white comb. Lets hope those drones are hatched and mature by the time the queen is ready to mate. This would be pretty early for us around here, but the extended outlook looks pretty warm and not a lot of rain.


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## wgstarks (Mar 3, 2015)

I've got drones just starting to emerge and lots more on the way. I know one of my neighbors started grafting last week.


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## Dave Burrup (Jul 22, 2008)

This year we are 4-6 weeks ahead of normal with very warm unseasonable temperatures and very dry. We will have drones by the end of the week. Hives look like mid-summer hives with large patches of brood. I have some hives with an almost full drone frame.


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## Dunkel (Jun 12, 2009)

Capped drone brood in East Ky now, one week later.


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## Matt903 (Apr 8, 2013)

Finally have some capped drone brood in South East Tennessee.


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## beecole (Nov 25, 2011)

anybody in the Carolinas have drone yet for making Nucs?


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## wgstarks (Mar 3, 2015)

beecole said:


> anybody in the Carolinas have drone yet for making Nucs?


I've had emerging drones for about 2 weeks now.


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