Drone is a male of honey bee. In temperate climate drones are present in the colony during spring and summer. The main task of drones is to produce sperm and mate with a queen during mating flight. Drones develop from unfertilized eggs. The development occurs in drone cells but see also Rearing Drones in Queen Cells of Apis mellifera Honey Bees,
Journal of Apicultural Science
, Volume 60, Number 2, p.119–128, (2016)
[1]. Drones differ from queens and workers not only in anatomy and behaviour but also in physiology Differences in drone and worker physiology in honeybees (Apis mellifera),
Apidologie
, Volume 36, Number 2, p.255-277, (2005)
[2].

Review: The biology and behaviour of drones,
Bee World
, Volume 68, Number 3, p.129–143, (1987)
[3]Drones,
American Bee Journal
, Volume 138, Number 12, p.891–892, (1998)
[4]

Instrumental insemination of honey bee queen. After Harbo (1985, fig. 5) Instrumental insemination of queen bees-1985. Part 1,
Am Bee J
, Volume 125, p.197–202, (1985)
[5].
See also Instrumental insemination of queen bees,
, p.28, (1970)
[6]Insemination Apparatus,
Apimondia
, p.47–58, (1989)
[7]

Reproductive system of honey bee queen.
Odl - oviduct
Ov - ovary
Spt - spermatheca
Vag - vagina

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Workers usually have three or four ovarioles Ovarian development in Apis mellifera worker bees,
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
, Volume 13, Number 4, p.377–394, (1970)
[8]. The ovaries are more often functional (with developed oocytes) in workers with higher number of ovarioles Ovarian development in Apis mellifera worker bees,
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
, Volume 13, Number 4, p.377–394, (1970)
[8]. Workers with developed ovaries inhibit ovary activation in other workers Ovarian development in Apis mellifera worker bees,
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
, Volume 13, Number 4, p.377–394, (1970)
[8].
See also Comparative anatomy of male genital organs in the genus Apis,
Apidologie
, Volume 22, p.539-522, (1991)
[9]Fertilization in the honey-bee, I. The male sexual organs: their histological structure and physiological functioning,
J. Exp. Zool.
, Volume 31, p.225-265, (1920)
[10]An evolutionary approach to mating behaviour and drone copulatory organs in Apis,
Apidologie
, Volume 22, p.581-590, (1991)
[11].

Glands of honey bee queen.

Dgld - Dufour's gland
KGld - Koschevnikov glands
MdGld - mandibular glands
TGld - tergal glands
VGld - venom gland

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Side view of sting of honey bee queen. After Snodgrass (1956, fig. 63C) Anatomy of the honey bee,
, Ithaca, p.334, (1956)
[12].
See also worker sting.

Internal anatomy of honey bee worker.

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More information about honey bee anatomy can be found in books Anatomy of the honey bee,
, Ithaca, p.334, (1956)
[12]Anatomy and dissection of the honeybee,
International Bee Research Association
, London, p.158, (1977)
[13]Form and function in the honey bee,
, Cardiff, p.220, (2003)
[14].

Glands of honey bee worker.

DGld - Dufour's gland
HGld - head salivary glands
HfGld - hypopharyngeal glands
KGld - Koschevnikov glands
MdGld - mandibular glands
NGld - Nasonov gland
ThGld - thoracic salivary glands
VGld - venom gland
WxGld - wax glands

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Venom gland and venom sack (called also poison gland and poison sack) of honey bee worker. After Snodgrass (1910, fig. 36) The anatomy of the honey bee,
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, Technical Series
, Volume 18, Washington, DC, p.1-162, (1910)
[15] and Mota (1988) Ocorrência e morfometria de glândulas tegumentares abdominais em Apis mellifera L.(Hymenoptera, Apidae),
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia
, Volume 5, Number 1, p.119–154, (1988)
[16]. (scale bar = 0.5 mm)

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Ultraestrutura do aparelho venenifero de Apis (Hymenoptera, Apidae),
Mem. Inst. Butantan Sao Paulo
, Volume 33, p.701-711, (1966)
[17]Fine structure of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) venom gland and reservoir: a system for the secretion and storage of a naturally produced toxin,
Microscop. Soc. Can.
, Volume 4, p.50-51, (1977)
[18]The morphology of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) venom gland and reservoir,
Journal of Morphology
, Volume 181, Number 1, p.69–86, (1984)
[19]

The tip of abdomen of honey bee worker. Dufour’s gland is marked red. After Snodgrass (1910, fig. 36) The anatomy of the honey bee,
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, Technical Series
, Volume 18, Washington, DC, p.1-162, (1910)
[15], Trojan (1930, fig. 1) Die dufoursche Drüse bei Apis mellifica,
Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Ökologie der Tiere
, Volume 19, p.678-685, (1930)
[20] and Abdalla (2001, fig. 1C) Size differences in the Dufour gland of Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera, Apidae) between and within the female castes,
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia
, Volume 18, p.119–123, (2001)
[21]. (scale bar = 0.5 mm)

Odc - common oviduct
PsnSc - poison sack
Qd - quadrate plate of stinghypopharyngeal glands
Rect - rectum

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