Value added drone trapping?

[Patrick Scannell]

Has anyone found a market for pre-emergent drones?

If they were incubated until just before emerging would they be good fish-bait? How about lizard food (competition with pet store crickets).

I'm thinking of doing some drone comb varroa trapping (in med-free hives), and wondering if there is anything to do with a nice comb of capped drone brood that has a higher value than chicken food.

[Michael Bush]

>If they were incubated until just before emerging would they be good fish-bait?

I should let my son try some. I'm sure they would work for something. Trout? Carp?

> How about lizard food (competition with pet store crickets).

I think the lizards like to catch their food.

>I'm thinking of doing some drone comb varroa trapping (in med-free hives), and wondering if there is anything to do with a nice comb of capped drone brood that has a higher value than chicken food.

The chickens sure do love them.

[ScadsOBees]

They work nice for fish bait. Any fish that eats bugs or forages on the bottom love them.

The trouble is getting them just before they emerge. If you take a section of brood, you usually get a mix of ages, meaning that only some will work. If they aren't just ready to emerge, they just pop when you try to hook them. But you don't know until you uncap them.

Then there is the whole problem of preservation...you have a frame of drone brood...now what? Freezer? refrigerator?

It is easier to cultivate red-worms, crickets, and wax-worms.

[power napper]

Some countries consider brood a delicacy! ;)

[NW IN Beekeeper]

Maybe someone should design a drone extractor?

Question: Whats white and yellow and goes 80 mile an hour?
answer: drones in a blender

heehee...


Jeff

[buckbee]

Basic Insect Flour

Blend dry roasted insects in a blender until they are a fine flour. MAKE SURE THE LID IS ON as insects are very light and will easily fly out of the blender. For a given quantity of insects, you will get more flour out of larvae than you do adult insects since they are denser.

Adapted from "Entertaining With Insects" by Ronald Taylor and Barbara Carter.


Bee-Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup soft butter
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 cups honey
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 cup bee flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 cups rolled oats

Cream together butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add in honey and water. In a separate bowl, blend flours, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices. Add all ingredients and oats and stir well. Drop by small spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 miniutes at 350 degrees.

[I didn't make this up, honest! see http://www.naturenode.com/recipes/recipes_insects.html]

[George Fergusson]

How to Eat Drone Pupa, with pictures:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~jtemp/maaltijd.html

[Joel]

Thanks guys, if the story about running out of oil doesn't keep me up this certainly will. Incidentally, I don't eat snails either!

[ January 22, 2006, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: Joel ]

[George Fergusson]

Joel! You never struck me as the squemish type. Wassup?

Here's Zach Huang's bug eating site:

http://eat.bees.net/

And this is great, Food Defect Action Levels: How many bugs have you eaten today? Includes a table showing typical numbers of bugs or bug parts in common foods:

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/bugfood/bugfood2.htm

Probably ought not to go there Joel...

[Mabe]

Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Aspera]

What next, varroa salad? Hehe, I bet the lil' buggers are crunchy

[gardenbees]

What do they taste like? Much of the world eats these types of things so I'm curious. Theresa.