[Outdoor N8]

I thought I would share with ya'll one of the steps I take in keeping varroa counts down.

Years ago, I did the green drone frames/ freeze thing, and came to consider it a waste of hive resources.

Then one day, I was reading some wise words written by Laurie, and saw how she cut her foundation to make cut comb.

Well, second year hives don't draw worker cells in open space but rather Drone....

so I began cutting 1/3 off a foundation, mark the frames topbar for easy visual, and now just harvest the capped drones-- ergo, harvest Varroa.



This time of year it takes only a week for the comb to be redrawn and relaid anyway.

 

[kramerbryan]

Nice. I just put a medium frame in a deep box, then cut the drone brood off the bottom. Chickens love the drone brood.

 

[Fivej]

In what way do you consider using the drone frames a waste of resources? Isn't making them draw new comb from nothing a bigger waste of resources? J

 

[wildbranch2007]

In what way do you consider using the drone frames a waste of resources? Isn't making them draw new comb from nothing a bigger waste of resources? J

beat me to the question.

 

[Fivej]

I could be wrong as my memory is full of holes, but I think Lauri's posts about cutting plastic foundation was about a method for Opening Sides Of Brood Nest. Maybe she does it for cut comb too? I use that method for OSBN. Yes, they will usually build drone comb in the empty space. So what I have been doing is I use the green drone frames in the spring for IPM for one or two cycles. Overlapping this time, I start adding OSBN frames. Eventually, the green frames are cycled out and I start cutting the drone comb from the OSBN frames as both varroa control and to keep the brood nest open. If I am on top of my game, the empty green frames are put back in and they start storing nectar in those big cells which I leave for winter stores. J

 

[Outdoor N8]

Chickens love the drone brood.

So do Thrashers and Towhees.

 

[Outdoor N8]

Five, Wild,
Just the whole two sides (of green frame) dedicated to non-workforce bees, that are being feed to pupae stage. Yes, there is the rebuilding of the comb, but I view it in two parts.
First, the other 2/3 of the frame is bringing me workers for my future house/field force. Second, I get a measure in how strong the colony is in how fast they rebuild and keeps those young hive girls on task (cutcomb is coming soon).

"If I am on top of my game,..." Exactly, I never have to remember, the frame is always in there, I just move it to slot three for fall.

 

[Fivej]

Outdoor, Ok, I understand your viewpoint now. Sounds like a good way to manage, but I am not sure you are doing much varroa mitigation. J

 

[Fivej]

So, after thinking about this, I am still a little confused. In your pic, it shows capped worker brood. I assume at some point they put honey in those cells. Do you move them above an excluder? I assume this (cut comb) is for personal consumption? J