Drone cell foundation 1kg

01 · WHY 7 MM

The size decides what the colony raises in that frame

Worker cells run to about 5.4 mm; these are 7.0 mm, the drone size, giving around 490 cells per dm² against the roughly 850 of ordinary foundation. Give the colony a sheet like this and drone rearing concentrates in a frame you have placed, instead of spreading into patches of wild comb in every gap. That matters if you rear queens and want drones of your own selection available in the mating season.

02 · THE TRAPPING FRAME

Forget it in there and you have bred varroa

Varroa prefers drone cells because the longer cycle gives it more time to reproduce. That is what the trapping frame is built on: you let the colony fill and cap it, and remove it before they emerge, taking the mites inside out with it. The part told less often is the other side of it: if the frame stays in and the drones emerge, you have multiplied the varroa instead of removing it. Note the capping date and do not let it slip.

03 · WHAT IT IS AND ISN'T

It lowers the load; it does not replace treatment

The trapping frame is a management tool that reduces the mite population and helps you reach the season with a lower load. It is not a veterinary treatment, and it does not replace authorised medicines or their schedule. Use it for what it is: one piece within the plan, not the whole plan.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It comes in a 1 kg bag and in four sizes: Langstroth, Dadant US, Dadant Blatt and Layens. How many sheets a kilo gives depends on the size you choose, because a Layens sheet weighs considerably more than a Langstroth one — tell us the format when you order.