Drones signal the beginning of swarm season

If you happen to see a swarm of honeybees the best thing to do is immediately contact your local bee association.

Nothing signals the approach of swarm season more reliably than the appearance of drones in the apiary.

The drones are the males in the hive and a colony won’t swarm if the new queen has no way to mate, but once drones are abundant, mating can occur and a populous colony may decide to split and form a swarm.