> To do what we can on the drone topic, we have asked all local beekeepers and club members to stop using drone sacrifice as an IPM method (heck, it just selects for Varroa that preferentially infest worker brood anyway...is a huge drain on colony resources and depopulates the local DCA's) 

Others have argued for a different approach which traps varroa in drone combs that are then relocated to separate receiving colonies. The receiving colonies are treated during emergence to kill the phoretic mite population while retaining the drones.  If the above comments are a real concern, a program that encourages drone trapping for IPM and preserves desired traits in the drone population may be worth a try before advising against a known IPM strategy. 

> "Our results suggest that this method of drone-brood trapping can be used as an element of an integrated control strategy to control varroa
mites, eliminating a large portion of the Varroa population with limited chemical treatments while retaining the benefits of maintaining adult drones in the population."

>Removal of Drone Brood From Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colonies to Control Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) and Retain Adult Drones
 Holly A. Wantuch and David R. Tarpy

>Apiculture and Social Insects  2009

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