Green Drone Comb – Medium

Description

Drone trapping is a great way to reduce the number of Varroa mites, without the use of chemicals, during the honey production season. It is based on the life cycle of the Varroa mite, and the mite’s preference for drone brood.

A female mite will enter the cell 1-2 days before it is capped, then wait for 60 hours after capping to begin laying her eggs. One mite egg is laid every 24 to 30 hours. Since the drone pupae remain capped about 3 days longer than the workers, more eggs are laid in the drone cells. On average, 2.8 mites will emerge with a drone compared to 1.8 mites with a worker bee.

Research has shown that the population of mites in a hive can be greatly reduced if the drone brood is removed before the cells are uncapped and the mites emerge.

Place one drone comb in each brood chamber to the outside edge of the broodnest (3rd frame in from the side of the hive if using 10 frames). Allow the queen to fill with drone eggs and wait for the bees to cap the drone cells. Once capped, remove from the hive and freeze for 24 to 48 hours to kill the mites and the drones. Thaw and return to the hive for the bees to clean up (or if you have chickens, allow then to pick the dead drone larvae out of the combs). This approach requires management. If you forget to remove the frame before the drones emerge, you will likely increase your mite load.