Has anyone ever had an issue with bees following their drone? There are a couple of fields near to my home and recently when I fly my mini 4 pro I get followed by a group of unusual looking bees. Unfortunately at least one was murdered by the drone. I will try to attach a picture but just in case, they are quite chunky like a bumble bee but not hairy and quite dark coloured.[ I know the picture is incomplete, that is what propellers are very efficient at doing.
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Murdered?
Check if it looks like one of these, if so it needs reporting:
as they are an invasive species that is endangering our British bees.
Eric?
Looks more like (whatās left of) a regular Western Honey Bee.
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Did you wash your hands after eating your honey sandwiches but before handling your droneš¤£
Much darker body than a wasp or hornet. They werenāt attempting to attack the drone, just following it around. At first sight I thought they were horse flies because of their size. Only when that one got decapitated and fell on my landing pad I could see it wasnāt a horse fly.
Ya gotta be careful of these bees that stalk drones. 
Yeah, might want to land a little away from where youāre standing!
Now, that propellers smell of āmurderedā bee(?) this scent may attract other members, the family, bent on revengeā¦
I am a beekeeper. I have three hives in my garden and I tend to try and fly my mini 4 away from the area as my bees surround the drone if I fly from home. I donāt think they like it and they will get chopped up if they fly too close.
Yes, the scent is called āāsting pheromoneāā. Once a bee getās injured or wants to attack something, sting pheromone is released so the other bees in the area know itās time to go and help out.
I had to thoroughly clean the drone. I donāt think that only one bee met its maker.
Yes i get it all the time. keep high and move fast they get board after time. some time a long time lol
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Hi M1CXF, since the bee has ended its days in kit-form thereās not really enough info. in the photo to be absolutely certain what species of bee it is. However it certainly is not a wasp or hornet, 100% for sure, nor a bumble bee. You describe the remains as being chunky and the the photo shows the abdomen to be fairly rectangular. I think this is a drone honey bee, i.e. a male honey bee and not the latest DJI model. They are chunky, donāt have a sting, donāt do any work around the hive and only exist to have their wicked way with a queen bee. From about May to late July virgin queens leave the colony to mate. Males, which out-number queens massively, and queens will congregate in a particular part of air-space without any respect for CAA regs. or NOTAMS being issued. It is quite possible you encountered one of these zones hitting one or more of the lawless beasts causing them to self-disassemble and spew their innards all over your own drone (which presumably is also male or possibly non-binary). It certainly isnāt a queen, so donāt feel too bad about its demise as the males die after a rather uneventful existence. Those that do die with a smile on their face are very far and few between.
Incidentally, your photo shows the beastie had two pairs of wings rather than one so it cannot possibly be a horsefly.
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have I missed the daily mail headline on bee murdering drones, killing our countries pollinators leading to global warming destruction ?
This may bee a stupid question, but is it possible that the male bees following the drone think itās buzzing sounds like a bee-utiful queen looking for romance ?
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