Comparing hives with and without drone comb, Seeley found:

> This study examined the impact on a colony’s honey production of providing it with a nat- ural amount (20%) of drone comb. Colonies with drone comb gained only 25.2 +- 16.0 kg whereas those without drone comb gained 48.8 +- 14.8 kg.

> By the end of August 2000, in 3 of 5 colonies with drone comb, but only 1 of 5 without drone comb, the mite count on the sticky board was greater than 100, indicating a heavy infestation of mites. Although these data must be considered preliminary, because they come from only 10 colonies and from only one year, they suggest that more drone brood in a colony does create a more favorable environment for mite reproduction. 

The effect of drone comb on a honey bee colony’s production of honey, Thomas D. SEELEY. Apidologie 33 (2002) 75–86

[ So, 20% of the no drone hives had levels above 100, whereas the number of hives with drone combs that had levels above 100 were triple that (60%). Also, raising a lot of drones in a hive had the additional cost of lowered honey production. Hives with 20% drone comb made half as much honey ]

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