Moot on Bsky was disappointed Queen Bianca barely gets spicy art compared to her damn underage Daughter getting a ton of it (eww, Vi is 16 and her Mom is literally right there!!!) so I drew the Bee Milf
Note also: the below may be better suited to a mature audience. Use your discretion. Everything should be palatable, but even so.
🌿General
Drone Exchange
While different colonies still exchange drones, colonies are also pretty spread out and travel is more difficult on foot. The ambient effects of the crystals in the awakening have created some failsafes to keep genetic exchange stuck between three or four hives from actually degrading too far, as long as their smart about it and get a new hive involved as soon as they can.
"The Drone Exchange" is a relatively intentional system - it becomes a coming of age ritual of sorts for drones to set out on an expedition in search of another hive or colony. Some colonies just send their drones out yonder, others coordinate exchange.
It's not uncommon for hives of similar enough genera to trade drones. Viability is no longer confined to the same species.
It is also not uncommon for colonies to direct traveling drones to other colonies, whether because they're in no need of a new drone, or because the other colony needs the drone more.
In the absence of available and willing drones, there is some emergency-grade genetic tomfoolery that keeps things from going sharply south.
Most drones perceive the exchange and courting as a duty of sorts. If ready and willing drones are not forthcoming, there may still be volunteers from a sense of obligation. This isn't ideal, but they also don't mind it most of the time.
With Bugaria's current situation, the failsafes are very much in play. They're a little far from other hives, and haven't built up a network yet. Once things settle down again, it becomes a much higher priority to start sending out scouts and drones to look for other hives.
The Bee Kingdom Hive probably gets the fewest newcomers, but the drones - when they go out - make sure to look for others they can direct back. Things are slowly ticking back up after their settlement in Bugaria.
The Ant Kingdom is doing okay for diversity, but their failsafes are also the most robust. It's about 50/50 most of the time.
The Wasp Kingdom is probably doing the best, but not by far. The other hives elsewhere aren't really aware of them, so it's become a mission to try and get in touch with other viable kingdoms.
The Queen and Her Drones
A queen's drones are often called consorts, and the whole group is referred to as her "consortes" or her "entourage" (one is more direct, the other more oblique and euphemistic).
She typically handpicks these from the drones attempting to court her. They may be from her own kingdom, if they are from other clutches than her own, or from arrivals to the kingdom from other hives.
"But aren't they siblings?"
Not quite.
"Brother" (and "sibling" in general) as a term only refers to those of the same clutch, sired by the same father. Relation through the queen is not counted as proper "siblinghood", only through both mother and father. It is also noteworthy that this definition of sibling is built into the genetics and what does and does not work.
Each drone fathers distinct clutches, and their genes provide all that's needed in terms of genetic diversity (even if from the same kingdom). Mating with drones from different clutches of the same kingdom is, while not ideal, still genetically viable. It's just less preferable if other options are available.
Queens typically try to choose drones from several different clutches, rather than more than one from the same clutch. Helps avoid sibling competition too.
The queen possesses a "sixth sense" that detects when a given drone is a close relation (i.e. the same clutch). She will not experience any attraction towards him, nor he her.
Nota Bene: All the above is peculiar to eusocial, colony bugs. Yes, the mesosocial bugs sometimes have a time of it wrapping their heads around this one. There are ethical concerns, and confusion, and head scratching. It ultimately comes down to one of the great sources of bemusement in their world - that eusocial bugs simply have different wired rules of function than mesosocial bugs, and this does at some level influence their methods of categorization and even their ethics (albeit not as drastically as some would have you believe).
Drones arriving from outside automatically get an audience with the queen and a short three day period to court her. If he passes that initial screening, he may continue courting her for the rest of the week, at which point she will make a decision either to ask him to court a little longer, or to accept or dismiss him from the consortes. The details and exact time frames of this practice vary from kingdom to kingdom, this is just the generalized pattern.
The Role of the Consort
In general, there is much more attached to being a drone mated to the queen here. It's not just a reproductive role, it's a commitment fitting to the role of husband, and of the queen no less. They are many, many things to the queen - helper, companion, guard, comfort, guidance, encouragement, and more. Their role is not to be underestimated, nor is their influence in the kingdom.
In most kingdoms, there is some level of nobility associated with the consortes, though the exact role they play in the royal court may vary. They may look like an honor guard, they might be a close band of nobles or courtiers, they could be a trusted and close set of servants. It varies by culture, species, and queen.
🌿Ant Kingdom
Leafcutter ants typically have a larger consortes compared to most ant colonies. Elizant I's was larger than normal at 12 drones, while Elizant II's a smaller, modest six.
General
The queen's consorts are particularly recognizable by their lack of wings. While it's an off-putting tradition to some, they often turn their wings into pairs of decorative jewelry - one for them, and one for the queen. The queen frequently does the same with hers. Gifted jewelry with the preserved wing in it is considered a high, high honor and a symbol of considerable trust. (Zaryant and Rebecca both have such pieces.)
The drones are nobles within the court, and are also akin to a close set of retainers. They can fill a servant like role, but as far more than "mere servants" - more like a set of very trusted handservants.
It's fairly normal for the Ant Queen to be seen with one or two of her consorts around here and there, but at any given point she usually only has a fraction of her consortes with her (even in the bedroom). They have their own living quarters separated off for when they're not "on duty" or when they or the queen needs more space (cuddle puddles, while quite beloved, are not a popular thing mid-summer). Whether these separate rooms are their primary quarters or secondary depends on the queen and how much she wants her drones around.
It's also worth noting the guard role the consortes serves. For example, Zaryant may be Elizant II's primary guard, but the drones are guards too. If, on any given night, Zaryant is guarding outside the queens chambers, the drones are within the chambers guarding her even more closely. A queen is quite difficult to assassinate when she has a small pack of drones snuggling her, all of whom would take an arrow for her and kill the bug that sent it.
Also, drones absolutely hold stupid competitions amongst themselves for various reasons (whether that be "who's the little spoon" or "who gets to walk her to her room" or what have you). "Who can make her laugh the most today?" - chuckles and giggles are one point, a snicker is half a point, guffaws are three points, and belly laughter is ten points. If she laughs for a minute straight and her sides are hurting, you automatically win. "Who can win in a little tournament we set up?" "Alright lads, round of rock-paper-scissors." (credit to a friend of mind for this idea.)
Elizant II
Elizant II and her drones are a little distant at first. She's not sure how to interact with them and the whole process was rushed. Elizant I picked out and vetted willing volunteers that she thought her daughter would get along with, and Elizant II - still rather young and a little intimidated - nodded along with it. Their situation is more reminiscent of an arranged marriage, albeit not one arranged from ironfisted control or malice. There's no hostility between her and her drones, but for a good while, it's awkward and a little cold.
The night after her coronation was emotionally conflicted enough, but the morning after? Elizant II was not adequately prepared for the process of losing her wings.
Her consortes was prepared, but her? Not remotely. That was her first breaking point, and the point at which her harsher tendencies went from simple ambition to a hard clamp on her own emotions. Too much change with too much pressure happened too fast, and she fell apart. She's not proud of how she responded, but her drones have assured her time and time again that there was nothing wrong about it. She ended up requesting that only two of them stay for that process. They let her curl up and took care of her.
It's not until closer to post-game that their relationship really solidifies into much. She becomes more approachable, and them less scared to approach her.
In the grief that comes with Elizant I's well and true passing, they are there to comfort her through some long nights of sobbing. Eventually, things brighten, and they can get well and truly close and comfortable.
Her consorts also know as well as anyone that she feels like she didn't get a lot of choice on things that really mattered. So, they approach her with the conscious effort to let her choose as much as possible - even if that means some of them are removed from the consortes when all is said and done. She doesn't remove any of them, but she does begin to fall well and properly in love with them after that.
There's also one addition later on that she gets to choose herself. When he first arrives, she finds herself pining for him a bit and has unwittingly convinced herself that she can't have him, even if she can. Then, as per the normal process that she'd forgotten about because she never experienced it, he comes to the palace and requests to court her properly, and she realizes he is an option. His introduction shifts the consortes from a slowly healing relationship to a healed relationship getting healthier by the day.
🌿Bee Kingdom
The typical drone number range is 10-20 in irl bees. Bianca's own consortes is around 15 drones.
They are most frequently and easily located in the chambers behind her throne, but can be seen out and about too. They're more reminiscent of courtiers and nobles.
Their other role of significant note is that of mentorship - they advise and train the next generation of drones and prepare them for their expeditions.
Drones that are of-age of the bee kingdom tend to get a wanderlust round about wintertime. It's something of a rite of passage and coming of age ritual for them to go on an expedition from the hive and wander around during the winter (which requires some Bundling Upâ„¢). They may return to the hive with their learnings and findings, or they may seek out another hive. If they do, they provide directions back to their home as well, to keep the exchange of drones going.
Several of Bianca's drones are from the same hive, a la failsafe genetics, but some are from elsewhere. There is particular emphasis on sending out drones to search for new hives this year, so this isn't a repeat.
Five of them, however, are New Garden Bumblebees escaped from a certain bandit bee's disassembled hive (I haven't introduced her yet, hold that thought).
🌿Wasp Kingdom
The Wasp Kingdom's typical consortes ranges between 6-10 drones.
Vanessa I had an unusually small consortes of only three drones. This is, unfortunately, part of the reason the hive's population was already small, and consequently took such a heavy blow during Hoaxe's reign.
The Wasp Queen's consortes, traditionally, also hold a military position. They comprise both an honor guard of the queen herself, and occupy leading military offices.
Vanessa II had a small consortes at first, consisting of Fuff and four yellowjackets. However, in the events of post-game, two more arrivals add to the nest. One is a paper wasp from Phos's captured hive, raised in part and sent out by Meiyu (the queen of a hornet hive to the North-Northeast). The other is a baldfaced hornet from a hive off to the Northwest.
Both arrive in the utter mayhem of Vanessa II trying to get the hive back in some semblance of order.
These two, thankfully, have their heads on straight and are a boon of the highest order.
The paper wasp knows how to woo and de-stress, and gets the consortes back on its game as far as helping Vanessa II relax a little bit (he manages to get rid of that stress headache she's had for a week straight, too). He's also savvy in terms of command and organization (thanks Meiyu), and steps up alongside Fuff to help organize rebuilding efforts.
The baldfaced hornet likewise is an organizational expert and whips the wasps into shape on the ground-floor. He also steps in to handle some of the communication with other kingdoms (and gets them to slow down a little).
Their arrival also gives Vanessa II a chance to stay occupied getting to know these two New and Interesting Faces. The other drones take the opportunity to sneakily take over her various ruling duties for a bit so she's not trying to manage Literally Everything.
Her drones have silly little competitions betwixt themselves sometimes to determine the order of this or that, but that all goes out the window if she picks someone. They also have a bit of an accustomed order they do things in, short of a Burst Of Spontaneity.
