David, How are you ?
 
In message <[log in to unmask]>, David Eyre
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>      OLd Drone wrote concerening Drone foundation.
>It works great, but if you do not have
>>excluders you could end up rearing a lot more drones in the spring and
>>today this would translate to a lot more Varroa Mites as they are said
>>to prefer drone brood over worker.
>
> Is there any proof to the validity of Andys statement?
The drone preference has been demonstrated by many; Fuchs (1990)
Apidologie 21(3): 193-199 for one. The consensus is it is 8 - 10 times
more infested than worker brood.
The distribution of mites in various brood cells is discussed in (for
example) Wiegting & Ferenz's paper (1991) ABJ 131(2): 117-118. Done is
attractive to mites for about 45 hours before it is capped (worker 15
hours) and as its capped for two days longer more daughter mites have
time to reach sexual maturity and mate in drone brood. Once the bee
emerges the inmature females and males die and only mature females live
on the adult bee. The actual number of these emerging from the brood
cells varies, depending on all sorts of things. On average the number
from worker is 1 to 1.7 and from drone 2 or 3. See Schulz (Apidologie
1984); Infantidis (Journal of Apicultural Research 1984) and Fuch &
Langenbach (Apidologie 1989) More recent research reported in the UK
journal Beecraft from Rothamstead (can't remember who did it !) put the
proportions at about 3:5 (worker to drone)
 
There is no doubt that drone rearing can also be varroa rearing.
 
Pet subject. Shall look some more ?
--
Dave Black
Blacks Bee Gardens,
Guildford, GU1 4RN.  UK.