Remove Brood | Varroa Control in Honey Bee Colonies

Written by EJbees in Manage Pests,Mites,Varroa Mites 

The reproductive phase of the mites takes place in the sealed worker or drone brood.  Brood attracts the mites and is used to trap them.   This method is known as a “shook swarm” in Britain.

This video is a practical demonstration of the “Brood removal” method, which is part of the handbook for “Alternative methods for Varroa control in honey bee colonies,” developed in the frame of the Nature Conservation Programme in North Macedonia – phase 2 (NCP), a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), coordinated by Farmahem-Skopje.

Step 1

On the first day when the method is applied, all frames with open and sealed brood are removed from the hive and transferred to a collector colony.

On each side of those frames, 200 to 300 worker bees are left to provide the necessary conditions and brood care in the collector. 

When transferring the frames, you should ensure that the queen remains in the productive frame, continuously laying eggs without interruptions.

In the hive’s central position, one frame with a larger open brood area, including eggs and larva, is left, which will serve as a trapping frame.

This frame is marked to find it easy when the hive is opened to the next time. Frames with built combs or frames with wax foundations are introduced in the empty places of the hive.

Step Two (9-days later)

Nine days after removing the brood, the trapping frame with mostly sealed brood and mites is removed from the hive and replaced by a frame with built comb or wax foundation.

This application can successfully control mites in the honey bee colony without the use of chemicals.

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