Harmless Drones

Germany has just cancelled it's Drone programme having poured millions in to it. According to the BBC today, the German railway company is about to invest in drones to patrol their depots, looking for grafiti sprayers.
Here is a comb of drone cells I took out of the beehive today. You can see the white larvae on the left comb, one of the chicks is just eating one. The chickens love the combs, I guess they are full of protein. Have to see if the eggs taste sweet!
Drones do not sting which is a good thing, they help to keep the hive warm or cool (as if we needed this this year) and otherwise they just hang around waiting to be ready to fertilize a receptive queen. They don't contribute to the nectar or pollen collection nor hive construction and household maintenance. As in "real" life, although they don't know how to swing the hoover they are essential!

Too many & they have to be reduced hence todays action. The other benefit the "Varroa destructor", a parasitic mite which is the cause of so many bee deaths, prefer the drone cells & therefore by destroying the larvae, one can help to reduce the infestation.