Drones in my backyard

So, I've seen a few bees around the house that I just moved into this last spring.  I really didn't think much of it.  I was glad to see them, but I was busy with a lot of stuff concerning the move and just went on with things.  Tonight I went out to my backyard to set up my canning kitchen and found many, many drones hanging in and around the flat of leeks that I never managed to plant.  I've heard that the drones have a hang out place where they gather, but I've never seen one before.

So, I have questions.  Does this mean that there are more than a single hive nearby?  Does it mean that I should go out and get a swarm trap?  I am interested in hosting honeybees if I can get them, but I was waiting until next year.  I've still got a lot of researching to do.  Should I plant flowers for my new neighbors?  

Any information anyone can give me will be very welcome.

Annette Henry

By all means, plant lots of flowers for pollinators.

There are over 20,000 known bee species in the world, and 4,000 of them are native to the United States. They range from the tiny (2 mm) and solitary Perdita minima, known as the world’s smallest bee, to kumquat-sized species of carpenter bees. Our bees come in as many sizes, shapes, and colors as the flowers they pollinate. There is still much that we don't know about native bees—many are smaller than a grain of rice and about 10% of bees in the United States have yet to be named or described—but all of these bees have jobs as pollinators.

https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-species-native-bees-are-united-states

Maybe those are not drones?

Why lots of flowers?

There are about 350,000 pollinator species in the world. While bees might be the most well-known, other insects, including butterflies, flies, moths, beetles, and wasps, also pollinate. Birds, bats, other small mammals, and lizards can act as pollinators, as well.

https://wildlife.ca.gov/Science-Institute/Pollinators

It is great that you have lots of bees in your backyard.

How is your canning kitchen coming along?

With canning season just around the corner, I am looking forward to hearing about your canning adventures!

Thanks for the information on the flowers and pollinators.

As for if they are drones or not, I've seen smaller bees with the same coloring earlier in the year, just one or two at a time.  That's why I thought these are probably drones.  Also, I couldn't figure out why workers would be hanging around the leeks.  They are definitely not a swarm.  It looks more like what pictures I've seen of the entrance to a hive looks like when the flow is heavy.  Lots of bees, some flying, most walking and bumbling over each other.  I did look for a swarm just in case, but I didn't see one.

As for my canning kitchen - it was an experiment I am now happy to say will be finalized into a real summer canning kitchen.  I have a coleman camp kitchen and next to it I have a short (as in height) metal bench.  On the bench I have a seafood boiler with my canner on top of that.  I'm canning sweet pickles right now, water bath.  

Thanks again for responding,

Annette Henry

This article explains that those might be worker bees guarding the queen:

A swarm is a clump of honeybees that you might find gathered on a car or fence, hanging off a towel on the washing line, or dangling from the branch of a tree. The clump will contain one Queen bee and thousands of workers and what they’re doing by clumping together is protecting the Queen while they wait for their scouts to return with news of a new place to live. It could be a hollow tree but more likely than not it could be your chimney.

https://lovelygreens.com/what-to-do-if-you-spot-swarm-of-bees/

Definitely not a swarm as there simply aren't enough of them.  Like I said, it looks similar to an entrance to a hive when there are lots of bees.  There is no clumping at all.  

Annette Henry