Jim,
 
I checked hives yesterday, as it was a warm day. One hive had the entrance
plugged
with dead bees, which turned out to be mostly drones. I  keep a coarse screen (4
squares
to the inch) in the entrance as a mouse guard which makes it hard for the bees
to remove
dead bees. I have seen drones flying from this hive throughout the winter. This
hive and
2 others have young Starline queens. But, the hive with drones is much stronger
than the
other 2 and has plentiful winter stores. I presume that there could be a
relationship between
the good condition of the hive and the presence of drones.
 
Kevin D. Parsons
Pittsburgh  PA  USA