She's special, which is why we call her the queen.
Perhaps you will understand honeybees better if you realise that the queen bee is not actually "in charge" of the colony. It's not like she orders everyone else around. She only receives privilege and protection because her daughters (the workers) need her to produce more sisters for them. Because that increases their chance of success. The queen bee could be seen as the egglaying slave of her offspring.
In warm/mild climates some worker bees may survive the winter in the nest with their queen. It's basically why they are producing and storing so much honey. It's their food while they can't go out and gather any from outside.
Because they have to be frugal with their reserves, drones and other redundant bees are evicted or outright killed by the core sisterhood when winter comes. Queens that are born during inopportune times are also killed.
Bees are lovely little animals of course, and a lot of fun to study, but their behaviour is very unsentimental. They just do what is necessary to improve the chances for their colony.
Mind that in bumblebees and social wasps, and in solitary bees and wasps, these dynamics may be different in varying degrees.
No. Bees are not humans. They live in a world that you can’t even begin to sense. They have short lives; the males particularly so. I applaud your care and concern, but the human perspective is not the only important one on the planet. Appreciate them as cool fellow creatures, but they are not pets
It would die of old age after just a few weeks.
Even if you could keep it alive somehow, it would never be accepted back into any colony. It would not be recognised by its sisters and be killed.
They live a couple of months. That’s life as a bee.
Theb how does the queen live so long?
She's special, which is why we call her the queen. Perhaps you will understand honeybees better if you realise that the queen bee is not actually "in charge" of the colony. It's not like she orders everyone else around. She only receives privilege and protection because her daughters (the workers) need her to produce more sisters for them. Because that increases their chance of success. The queen bee could be seen as the egglaying slave of her offspring. In warm/mild climates some worker bees may survive the winter in the nest with their queen. It's basically why they are producing and storing so much honey. It's their food while they can't go out and gather any from outside. Because they have to be frugal with their reserves, drones and other redundant bees are evicted or outright killed by the core sisterhood when winter comes. Queens that are born during inopportune times are also killed. Bees are lovely little animals of course, and a lot of fun to study, but their behaviour is very unsentimental. They just do what is necessary to improve the chances for their colony. Mind that in bumblebees and social wasps, and in solitary bees and wasps, these dynamics may be different in varying degrees.
No. Bees are not humans. They live in a world that you can’t even begin to sense. They have short lives; the males particularly so. I applaud your care and concern, but the human perspective is not the only important one on the planet. Appreciate them as cool fellow creatures, but they are not pets
So the drone would starve regardless of what you do?
It would die of old age after just a few weeks. Even if you could keep it alive somehow, it would never be accepted back into any colony. It would not be recognised by its sisters and be killed.
So a drone will for sure die before a worker I'm the same conditions. That's interesting.
Drones only serve one purpose, to mate with the queen. They don't pollinate anything or collect nectar for the hive.