Abstract
The Drone caste exhibits specific diagnostic morphometric characteristics
that facilitate its differentiation from other colony castes. Drone formation gets
completed in about 24-25 days, with the first ten days in an open cell and the final 14
days under capped conditions. Furthermore, the drone caps are convex in shape. The
Drone egg is measured about 1.49±0.12 (range 1.12–1.85) mm, the width is 0.35±0.02
(range 0.30–0.40) mm, and the volume is 0.10±0.02 (range 0.06–0.15) cubic mm. After
hatching for the first three days, the larval weight is 0.11 mg, the 7th-day-old larva is
120 mg, 11th-day-old larva reaches a weight of 350 mg. An adult has a mean body
length of about 1.5 cm. Further, the drone character varies as per ecological conditions,
species, genotype, and other environmental conditions.