Subject: Cutting Drone Brood - Michele Campero's technique

From: George & Kate <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 00:12:33 -0700

Varroa mites are attracted by the drone brood, just before the cell is capped (7 -
9th day). If this brood is removed before hatching, the varroa are also removed.

So the technique we use was developed by Michele Campero. It consists of a an empty
comb frame split into 3 vertical sections using thin strips of wood. I shall try to
illustrate this in a design:

     -+---------------------------+-
      |        |          |       |
      |        |          |       |
      |        |          |       |
      |        |          |       |
      |        |          |       |
      |        |          |       |
      |        |          |       |
      +--------+----------+-------+

The point is to allow the bees to build drone combs, 1 per week, in each section,
which will be built, layed in, and the 3rd week, cut off by the beekeeper.

Put the frame, with 2 of its sections closed by a wooden panel, to the side of the
brood (between the combs containing brood, and the end ones containing honey). This
should be done 2-3 weeks before the swarm period, when the bees are beginning to
build wax. Every week, one new section should be opened. Once they are all open, the
oldest should contain capped drone brood (and the varroa that this has attracted),
and should be cut away, and so on...

This system also tells you when they are about to swarm.

 Each week extract the frame, and see what they built in the last section, and if
necessary, open a new section by removing a wooden panel, or cutting the 3 week old
comb.
- If they are intending to swarm they will build drone cells.
- If they are not thinking of swarming, they will build worker cells.
- If they are not building wax, usually the family is weak or orphan, or its simply
too early for them (bad weather ?). Wait another week before opening a new section.
- If they are building swarm cells (or supersceding cells), it is likely that they
will build one in this space,
- a few days before swarming, they will stop building wax completely
- if they built the section thouroughly very quickly, it may be good to add a
waxsheet and remove a honey comb, to allow them to build. Otherwise they might be
encouraged to swarm.

Note: If there is a comb section that contains 3 week old drone brood, it MUST be cut
off to remove the varroa. Typically, during the swarm period, when you check one of
these frames you see last weeks comb, usually not fully built and with young uncapped
larva, the 2 week old comb containing freshly capped drone cells (often a few are
still being capped) and the cappings are lighter in colour. The 3 week old comb has
darker cappings.

This rotation is important to ensure that the varroa always have a chance to find a
few drone larva of 7-9 days of age.

After the swarm period, they will eventually stop laying drones, and start laying
worker brood in the combs, or they will use them for honey. These combs are to be
left for the next year. The frame should be gradually be moved to the end o the brood
chamber, and left there to be introduced next sping.

If opening the hives every week is a problem, the frame can be done in 2 sections,
and inspected and cut every 10-12 days. This is slightly less efficient than the 3
section system. Some beekeepers use a quick and ugly method of using a super frame,
with no waxsheet or wire. This is half the height of the brood chamber, so the bees
have 2 sections: they build a comb inside the frame, and another hanging under it.
But this is too much space to obtain a nice comb in 10 days.

An advantage of supplying a drone brood frameis that they will not ruin the other
waxsheets by building drone cells on the worker cell pattern since they have the
empty space to do what they want with.

The latest frames I made, I reduced the height of the sections, by adding another
section along the top of the original 3, in which I wired a strip of waxsheet (one
third of the height). This is because the bees put honey above the drone cells, and
when we cut the combs, the honey spills and annoys them.

This system controls the varroa level only during the swarm period. This means that
the varroa level remains low until the end of summer. It is better to treat the bees
when the temperature is more moderate, and they have something to work on. 
(Here in Italy in august it gets very hot and dry).

-- 

George & Kate
Poggio Mirteto

---

From: Dave Black <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 10:34:20 +0100

In article <[email-masked]>, George & Kate <[email-masked]>
writes
>comb frame split into 3 vertical sections using thin strips of wood. 

An interesting if slightly elaborate method !  An alternative to try is
two brood frames with drone foundation. Once drawn these are reused by
freezing to kill the drood brood. There then is less delay while the
bees draw comb and the bees are encouraged to put drone brood where it
can be monitored.

>- If they are not thinking of swarming, they will build worker cells.

Mine are never this straight-forward :-)

-- 
Dave Black
Blacks Bee Gardens, 
Guildford, GU1 4RN.  UK.