Sunday, July 5, 2026

DRONE COMB TO AID IN MITE CONTROL


 Some beekeepers, including me, use cultural methods to help with control of the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor).  One of these methods involves putting special frames into the hive which the bees recognize as drone comb frames.  When the queen lays eggs in these cells, she makes sure they are unfertilized - resulting in drone larvae.  Drones take a much longer time to develop and they have more 'fat bodies' making them preferred by the mite mothers.  In short, once the cells are capped by the workers and the frames are removed by the beekeeper, the mites are removed from the hive.  The chickens are happy to take it from there, making a meal of the Drone grubs and the attached mites.


A closeup view is below.



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