Smallholders Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: culling drone favouring varroa - an evolutionary mistake?  (Read 2108 times)

Laurieston

  • Joined May 2009
  • Northern Germany
culling drone favouring varroa - an evolutionary mistake?
« on: November 01, 2014, 11:00:09 pm »
Here's a thought I came across the other day.

If I cull drone brood in an attempt to reduce the amount of varroa in my colony, don't I tend to reduce the varroa who prefer to breed in drone cells and therefore encourage the varroa who by instinct favour worker cells?  Didn't Darwin write about selective evolution and I am helping select which varroa successfully reproduce - worker laying ones!

Hummm

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: culling drone favouring varroa - an evolutionary mistake?
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2014, 12:34:13 am »
I tend to agree with you , I gave up breeding honey consuming drones for Varroa to infest when the frames could have raised worker bees instead If I'd used standard brood wax  instead of drone wax. Plus the queen only has so many eggs in her life , so why waste them on excess drone brood that occupied workers efforts who could have been better employed elsewhere in the hive ?

 Purposely encouraging additional drone brood production must have some effect on the strength of the hive & it's capabilities .  It is often  argued by some that the varroa reduction gained by freezing sealed infected drone brood is somehow worth it.  i considered the loss of two brood comb faces in the brood box as not worthwhile even if I double brooded the hives.

 It also saved me from thinking of buying my own wax mould for making drone wax ( I already had the standard mould  & queen cup forms ) 
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

ZacB

  • Joined Apr 2012
  • Suffolk
Re: culling drone favouring varroa - an evolutionary mistake?
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2014, 07:31:22 am »
I think the phrase to answer that is "intergrated pest management" - should be part of a plan to control varroa alongside thymol / oxalic acid / icing sugar / hive clean / grannies home brew etc etc not just a stand alone treatment.
You do need drones and I think people are now realising they don't just sit around eating all the pies and waiting for their one moment of glory. That said if I had a hive with DWV (very sad to see) and a load of drone brood, the brood would be out and treatment put in place.

 

Forum sponsors

FibreHut Energy Helpline Thomson & Morgan Time for Paws Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival Ark Farm Livestock Movement Service

© The Accidental Smallholder Ltd 2003-2024. All rights reserved.

Design by Furness Internet

Site developed by Champion IS