Gentlepeople:
 
        I went into my two hives yesterday (3/31/96) BEFORE the April Fools
     Day Winter Hit in the Midwest.  The temp was then in mid 60s in Dayton
     Ohio (39.90N) around 330 pm.
 
        I did some reversing, pulled Apistran Strips out of the hives
     (after having them in for exactly 49 days), checked on stores and
     pollen, and did general cleanout.  Everything looked good, the best I,
     in my four years of losing hives to mites and ignorance, had ever seen
     -- lots of bees bringing in white yellow pollen, several frames with
     what looked like raw nectar/honey in them, bees doing the "wag tail",
     and generally bees doing normal bee stuff.
 
        However, something I saw puzzled me.  I saw drones, not to many,
     but enough to clearly indicate that the queen had been laying drone
     eggs at least 30 days ago (March 1?).  For those who might jump to the
     conclusion that I had a drone layer, not so.  There was plenty of
     regular worker brood, nearly 7-9 frames worth.
 
        The question is, is this early for drones?  I was not expecting to
     see them for at least another month.  Does their presence this early
     in our season mean anything or is it normal?  Dare I hope that it is a
     GOOD sign for a change?
 
     Yours,
     Mark Egloff
     [log in to unmask]
     Hobby Beekeeper and Amateur Student of Bee-ology