Homing Drone

Craig and I capturing a drone.

This year we began a pollinator program as part of the education curriculum at work. Craig, one of the naturalists that teach the program, wanted to get to know more about honey bees by visiting the apiary.

We had a great time checking on the progress of the Dmitry Hive and then captured a drone for an experiment. We marked him with a small dot of light green nail polish (somehow red didn't quite seem his color) before putting him in an old queen cage. The intent was to allow the school kids an up close education on drones before releasing it and we'd see if he'd return back to the apiary. The last time I sent a drone home with Sara and her nieces and nephew, he was dead by the next morning so we weren't quite sure how this drone would get along by himself outside of the hive.

After Craig left for his sleep-over with the drone, I did a bit of internet research and learned drones don't do well without attendants. There were no details beyond that and left me wondering why was that so... do the attendants feed him, as they do the queen? This had me thinking that this drone, too, would not see the light of the new day.

The drone back at home. 

So, I was surprised and when Craig arrived at work the next morning with the queen cage containing a very alive 'Andrei' (Craig's name for the drone) who lived to be a part of the program before they set him free. The kids were excited to get to see a drone up close and a few even had the courage to hold him before he took flight, circling higher and higher until he was out of view.

The farm is about a little over a mile away as the crow flies from the apiary and Andrei easily returned home like a pigeon to his coop. I'd call that a very successful experiment, both in that he lived to participate and that he returned from a place from which he didn't fly to!

Bees navigate by the sun so this experiment has brought up all kinds of questions. Stay tuned for further posts on been navigation.