Marton wrote: >My question is this: I went out to the hive today to watch for a while and >I noticed that there where some very large looking bees coming and going. >They where a lot darker in color than the workers and about 4 or 5 >millimeters longer and thicker, they also made a lot more noise when they >flew. These guys where coming and going without any trouble. ****** Those were likely drone honey bees (the males), that normally fly in mid-afternoon. You should really read a couple of Sue Hubbell's books (for example, A COUNTRY YEAR and A BOOK OF BEES). She has kept bees in the Ozarks and writes very well! Adrian Adrian M. Wenner (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office) Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology (805) 893-8062 (UCSB FAX) Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX) Santa Barbara, CA 93106 ************************************************************************* * "The difference between real and unreal things is that unreal things * * usually last much longer." Pot-Shots #6728 * * Copyright, Ashleigh Brilliant --- used with permission * *************************************************************************