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Drone Brood Removal for Mite Control
I'm not sure if there is an official name but I call it the "short frame" method. It is simply replacing two to four deep frames with western size frames. The workers then build drone comb in the remaining space under the western frame. Once the drone brood is capped it can easily be cut off with a hive tool. This is used as an organic Varroa mite control method as the mites preferred breeding area is drone comb. This method is also useful for monitoring mite levels. Once the capped drone comb is cut off an uncapping fork is pushed in under the cappings capturing the drone pupae. Pulling the pupae out and turning them over will reveal the mites which were in the bottom of the cell. Ideally, using 2 frames, one of the capped combs would be cut off on alternating inspections spaced 10-12 days apart depending on how quickly the workers rebuild the comb and the queen lays drone eggs. Once drone rearing season is over the comb can be left on the frames where the workers will fill the empty cells with honey. This is not effective as a complete mite control method but is very useful as an IPM method for increasing the time interval between chemical treatments.
By Tim Bueler
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