In message <[log in to unmask]>, David Eyre <[log in to unmask]> writes >On 7 Jan 97 at 9:53, RICHARD BARNES wrote: Re: foundation in brood nest >> I believe that last year their was a thread about using foundation in the >> brood box to control mites by taking out this extra drone comb. > >This idea is used quite extensively in Europe. One frame of drone >foundation is added to the center of the brood nest at a time of year when >the hive is producing drones. An additional technique is to trap the Q on a frame of drone comb, caged in with excluder-type walls, so that she only lays drone. When the comb is full (sealed?), transfer the Q to another similar frame trap, destroy the first and repeat. I think that the idea is to make sure that the only available cells for the varroa are those within the special frames, so that a large proportion are destroyed. We don't (yet, quite) have the dreaded mite here in Liverpool, but perhaps someone with practical experience could enlarge on this treatment and it's pros & cons - looks attractive, but may be a lot of work for anyone with more than a couple of hives. -- Alyn W. Ashworth Lancashire & North-West Bee-Keepers' Association. UK. (but I don't speak on their bee-half)