In Defence of the Drone: Why the Boys Matter More Than You Think

What do you know about the male honey bees?

Male honey bee

Many beekeepers don’t care for the boys.

Literally.

The drone bees—those big, gentle, fuzzy boys—are often killed off in standard beekeeping practices. Look up “drone culling” if you dare (😭). The reasoning? They’re “useless.” They don’t forage. They don’t make honey. They don’t clean. And worst of all (to the beekeeper chasing profit) they don’t make money.

In their eyes, the drone’s only job is to mate with a queen. And since most conventional beekeepers don’t allow their bees to reproduce naturally, drones become expendable. Redundant. A drain on resources.

So they get culled.

Male honey bee in the hive

The Hum That Holds the Hive

In truth, male honey bees (aka drones) play a deeply important role in the life of the hive. One that’s subtle. One that requires you to listen differently.

Drones are usually found clustered around the brood nest, around the nursery of the colony. They don’t just loaf around there. Their large, warm bodies help regulate the temperature of the developing baby bees. Think of them as fuzzy little radiators, tucked gently around the children.

But it’s not just body heat. Drones hum.
Low. Steady. Resonant.
Their hum is so powerful it affects the entire hive’s vibration.

And guess what that vibration does?
It encourages the forager bees (their sisters) to fly. To forage. To bring nectar and pollen back home. Their deep tone sets the hive into motion.

Take away the drones, and the hive becomes sluggish. Unmotivated. Uninspired.

Boys have gigantic eyes to spot the flying queen bees in the air

The Sacred Masculine

Jacqueline Freeman, author of Song of Increase, calls drones the “sacred masculines of the hive.”
They’re not protectors or providers in the way patriarchy defines it.
They are presence. Frequency. Devotion.
They are the bass line that makes the whole colony groove.

When I learned that, it shook something in me.

A Feminist’s Confession

As a feminist, I’ve spent years unlearning how toxic masculinity shows up in the world. I’ve witnessed its harms. Named its patterns.

So when I first heard that drones don’t forage or clean or produce anything measurable… my eyebrow raised.

When I learned they’re often killed off for being "unproductive"? Oof. The symbolism was not lost on me.

But the hive is older than us. And it doesn’t follow capitalism.
It doesn't confuse productivity with value.

And in the hive, the masculine is in service to the feminine. Not above it. Not competing. It supports life, rather than extracting from it.

The male bees don’t dominate. They hum.
And that hum lifts the feminine into flight.

That realisation healed something in me.
It made space for a gentler kind of masculine energy—one I rarely saw growing up.
One that could hold warmth, sound, and frequency without needing to “perform.”

A Ritual for You

In honour of the drones—and all the sacred masculine energy that’s learning how to be soft again—I created a 5-minute Bee Frequency Sound Bath.

Just a little hum to reconnect you with the rhythm of the hive, and your own quiet power.

🎧 [click here to excess our google drive]

Let it vibrate through your bones.
Let it remind you that being is doing.
And that sometimes, just humming is enough.

Meet Titanilla, founder of Beewitching Embassy