Foundation machine Drone cell Langstroth

01 · 7 MM CELL: 470 PER DM²

Against the 800 of worker foundation

The drone cell measures 7 mm and gives 470 cells per square decimetre; the worker cell measures 5.4 mm and gives some 800. Same wax, same Langstroth format of 420 × 202 mm, larger cell.

Bees build drone comb when they can and where they can. Giving them a full drone sheet is deciding where they will do it, instead of letting them improvise in the corners of worker frames.

02 · DRONE BROOD ATTRACTS VARROA

And that is why the frame works as a trap

Varroa reproduces preferentially in drone brood: the cell stays capped longer and the mite takes advantage. Hence a widespread biotechnical practice: put in a drone frame, let it be capped and remove it before it emerges, taking with it the mites inside.

It is a management practice, not a treatment: it does not replace a health plan, and it works only if the frame comes out in time — if it emerges, you have done the opposite of what you intended. Using no substances, it fits operations looking to reduce treatments.

03 · NO SOLVENT

And that is the difference from a roller machine

Roller mills need a release agent so the wax does not stick: a consumable with its cost and its handling. This press uses none. The upper and lower plates carry internal water cooling on a heat-exchanger principle, and the sheet comes out dry.

The water leaving the circuit is still useful: it cools the surplus wax in the collection tray. And a shut-off and regulating valve lets you match the flow to the working speed, with low water use — far from the hundreds or thousands of litres an hour of a roller line.

04 · EXACT SIZE, NO TRIMMING

The mould is silicone rubber

The sheet comes out at the exact outer dimensions of the format, so there is nothing to trim afterwards. That is the advantage of working by press rather than by continuous band: every stroke delivers a finished sheet.

The embossing mould is resistant silicone rubber, from the maker's own compound, and the metal parts are stainless steel. Austrian built by Puff Graz.

05 · 60 SHEETS AN HOUR

The pace of an operation that supplies itself

Output reaches 60 sheets an hour. It is not an industrial figure and does not pretend to be: it is that of a beekeeper who wants to control their own wax and not depend on what they buy outside.

That is the underlying argument for making foundation at home. You know where the wax came from, what has been added to it and what has not, and you close the cycle with your own cappings wax.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Drone foundation press, Langstroth format.