Robin Dartington wrote:

>
> Any comments from beekeepers in temperate areas who rely strongly on
> spring
> drone removal?


I'm a new beekeeper who is trying to stay as organic as possible. My
comments reflect both of those perspectives. My method this first summer
was a combination of things, including screened bottom boards, essential
oils in the feed (both build up and fall), powered sugar shakes to check
for mites, and, yes, drone brood frames. Some background (because all
beekeeping is local, and not all bees are equal):  I have two hives. I
bought Italians from Buckeye Bee. One hive arrived with a mated queen
and all Italian-appearing bees. The other arrived with a virgin
supersedure queen, and a mix of Italian and Carniolian-appearing bees.
That virgin mated after she arrived. Dunno with whom, of course, but
some of the offspring still have a Carniolan appearance, though she
looks Italian. There are a couple of other apiaries within a ten mile
radius, but I don't know the beekeepers or the bees they keep. I'm in
Upstate NY. My  intention this first season was to learn, learn, learn.
I spent about an hour a day observing the hives, and opened them every
two weeks or so, so that I would have first-hand knowledge of what goes
on the hives and to develop my own skills.

Mite counts were low on every check. None in the powdered sugar shakes
and a max of 5 in the drone brood frames. My bees were hived from nucs
on June 23rd; one colony produced about 40 lbs of honey, the other no
surplus, but they built up well for winter.

On to the frames of drone brood: If you're a commercial beekeeper, bees'
effort aside, I can't see doing it. It is labor intensive (for the
humans!), and in a large operation, you would risk spreading disease
shuffling frames among hives. For a hobbyist who isn't interested in
eeking out every last ounce of honey, I see it as a good way to check
for mite levels. I'm interested in healthy colonies first, honey
production second. Bees are expensive; why use a method that produces
more honey, but may force me to buy new spring packages?

Am I "putting the breaks on"? Maybe. But again, production is second,
health is first. Destroying a few thousand drones that might have been
worker brood might cost me--what? A few quarts of honey? OK. But by now,
we all know that mites can develop resistance to chemicals. So I'm
taking the long view. Until I have bees that can handle the mites on
their own (and one way or another, I'm sure that that can happen), I'm
using methods that won't contribute to that resistance while keeping my
bees as healthy as possible.

Now, if we could sell drone brood as a delicacy, it might make it worth
the effort for the commercial beekeeper. :)

Lesli

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