In the haemolymph of honeybee drones, concentrations of free amino acids were higher than in worker haemolymph, with different relative proportions of individual amino acids. The overall concentration of free amino acids reached its highest level at the 5th day after adult drone emergence, and after the 9th day only minor changes in the concentration and distribution of free amino acids were observed. This coincides with the age when drones reach sexual maturity and change their feeding behaviour. Levels of essential free amino acids were high during the first 3 days of life and thereafter decreased. Osmolarity was lowest at emergence (334 +/- 42 mOsm), increased until the age of 3 days (423 +/- 32 mOsm) and then stayed generally constant until the 16th day of life. Only 25-day-old drones had significantly higher osmolarity (532 +/- 38 mOsm). The overall change in osmolarity during a drone's lifetime was about 40%.