LindenNora · Uppsala, SE · Beginners · Jul 28, 2026

Watching workers drag drones off the landing board — is dearth here already?

Third year in Uppsala, two hives. Sat with my coffee yesterday morning and watched workers wrestling drones out of the entrance — some getting dragged, some just blocked from coming back in. Both hives doing it. It's only end of July. I thought drone eviction was a September thing here? The lime trees finished a couple of weeks ago and the fireweed is looking tired, so I'm wondering if the bees have decided the season is effectively over and the free-loaders have to go. Is early drone eviction a reliable dearth signal, or do colonies sometimes do a partial eviction and change their minds if a late flow shows up? And should I be thinking about feeding already, or just keep an eye on stores for now?

#drone-eviction#dearth#seasonal

▲ 7 votes 💬 3 replies

3 replies

SkaneBees · Jul 28, 2026

Skåne here — seeing the same thing since about a week. It's a resource decision, not a calendar one: when income stops, drones are the first budget cut. And yes, it's reversible — a decent late flow and they'll tolerate drones again. I treat it as a signal to start hefting hives weekly, not to feed immediately.

muglabalci · Jul 28, 2026

Agree it's a dearth flag. One caution: if only ONE hive were doing it aggressively while others weren't, I'd also glance at stores and robbing pressure on that hive specifically. Both hives at once like yours = environment, not a hive problem. Don't feed while there's any flow left or you'll get syrup in your supers.

LindenNora · Jul 29, 2026

Thanks both. Supers are coming off next weekend anyway, so I'll heft after that and start 2:1 only if they're light in August. The budget-cut framing makes it much less alarming to watch, poor lads.

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