A drone bee is a male bee that is part of a honeybee colony. Unlike worker bees, drones do not have stingers and do not collect nectar or pollen. Their primary role is to mate with a queen bee during the mating season. Drones are larger than worker bees and have bigger eyes, which help them spot the queen during flight. Drones are produced in the spring and summer when the colony is thriving. They are typically expelled from the hive in the fall when resources become scarce. This ensures that the colony can conserve food and energy for the surviving worker bees and the queen bee.