Drone plastic frame

Our one piece plastic frame and foundation features a larger cell pattern encouraging the bees to build drone comb.

USES: DRONE BROOD REMOVAL METHOD

One commonly practiced non-chemical method of Varroa control is the trapping and removal of drone (male) honey bee brood, with the goal of killing Varroa attracted to this brood for reproduction. One method of achieving this goal is by introducing frames of plastic foundation with drone-cell-sized imprints into the hive at any time when bees are rearing drones. Bees will build full frames of drone-sized cells in which drones will be reared, and these will attract Varroa mites. These frames are then removed after a majority of the cells are capped, and destroyed, typically by freezing. Frames of brood are then re-inserted into the hive, where dead drones and mites are removed by the colony’s honey bees. This cycle can be repeated multiple times.

In France, the Alsace Chamber of Agriculture conducted an experiment in 2011 to measure the effects of this technique.

In this study, four trappings of Varroa mites during the season (May to July) helped to limit the outbreak of Varroa population in colonies in summer without affecting the production of honey. However, this practice requires regular monitoring of brood to remove drone frames at the proper time. While the reduction of Varroa achieved with this method does not alleviate the need for chemical control, it can delay the Varroa population development in spring and summer.