Debbie :
 
This is a very good idea.  I believe Jan Templeman has a web site on the
topic of trapping mites in drone brood (I have only looked at it quickly).
I have a few points that may help smooth your idea out :
 
At 10:22 PM 6/17/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I have been thinking (which is sometimes dangerous) about how I could
>control this mite.  I have this idea about putting one frame of drone
>foundation in each hive, then, before the drones are just about to hatch, I
 
You do not need drone foundation specifically.  If you rip a large hole in
the center of a ratty old frame with worker cells and place it into a
booming colony, the workers will draw the cells out in the hole as drone
brood.  Alternatively a friend of mine has used a smooth plastic sheet as
foundation, and the workers draw the majority of those cells out as drone
cells.  Mark your specific drone frames and store them.  You now have a
battery of drone frames to drop into your colonies in the spring and summer
to suck of your varroa.
 
>would take the frame from the hive and distroy the drones and then return
>the frame back to the hive to start all over again.  I was reading that
>about 75 % to 80 % of the mites reproduce in drone brood cells, therefore
>if I do this I could possibly control or eliminate 75 % to 80 % of the
>varroa in the hives. Also if this could work I would have to find a way to
>make sure I killed all the mites hiding in the comb before returning it
>back to the hives.
 
Well, the method I have seen most used is not to even let the drones emerge.
Take your drone-trap frame soon after it is sealed place it in the freezer
overnight.  You will be left with drone-varroa popsicles (fully and
completely dead).  To clean the trap frames out put it back into a strong
hive and the worker will clean them up (one German beekeeper saves the
workers the work and places the comb on the lawn and watches the robins peck
merclessly at those varroa infested frames - gives him some satisfaction I
suppose).  Reuse your frames.  Believe me whole lot of Varroa will be in
those drone cells.
 
I do not know how many drone frames or with what frequency the frames need
to be used. I suspect there are studies from Europe (the Netherlands in
particular) that have worked this out.  Nonetheless I think anyone who has
time on their hand should try it out.  I think before experimenting with any
sparcely studied varroa treatments (drone trapping, essential oils, throat
losenges, etc..) good working knowledge of Varroa sampling techniques (in
particular natural sticky board drops) needs to be achieved.  With before
and after sticky board counts (or at least after) on hand you can go back
and retreat or clean up the mess with Apistan if the experimental treatment
does not pan out.
 
I'd love to hear testimonials of people's experience with drone trapping.
Drop me a line any time.
 
Sincerely
Adony... also from Canada
 
Oh, P.S.
 
>I know that a frame of drone brood would be taking up
>room in my hives, but if this could help control this mite it could be
>worth the sacrificed worker brood.
 
Maybe you'd be doing a big favour to colony productivity (just a guess).
Drones are reaered but never get the opportunity to drain the colony of
resources as adults (because they never make it that far).  Also, perhaps
all you do by putting a lot of drone brood on one frame is you reduce its
scattering around the colony.  Essentially you rear the same amount of drone
brood, except you have forced the colony to put it all in one spot at one
time (a real big guess, and i'm probably talking out my butt here).
 
>Maybe I could have two drone frames and rotate them each time, that
>way I could kill the mites by starvation?  I would still continue with
>conventional treatments..Fall & Spring.
 
 
Oh, I don't get what you are saying here.
***********************************
** Adony P. Melathopoulos *********
*** Center for Pest Management ****
**** Simon Fraser University ******
***** Burnaby, British Columbia ***
****** Canada, V5A-1S6 ************
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