Beekeepers can creatively leverage the natural tendencies of bees to build drone cells by introducing subtle irregularities in honeycomb frames.

These deviations can encourage bees to construct more drone cells, supporting various management strategies.

Why Drone Cells Matter

Drone cells are essential to colony health and, when managed carefully, can assist in controlling pests like Varroa mites.

By focusing on the natural tendencies of bees to create drone cells under certain conditions, beekeepers can guide bees’ behavior for the hive’s benefit.

Drone brood is an amazing and fast way for you to actively see the infestation rate inside a hive with varroa mites.

By simply removing a frame full of drone brood you can uncap them and manually count the mites inside each cell.

You’ll feel when there are too many hives and with that information, you can take action.

How to Encourage Drone Cell Building

To stimulate bees to construct more drone cells, add irregular or open spaces in the frames.

Bees tend to interpret these areas as places suitable for drone development, as drones require larger cells than workers.

By arranging these patterns:

Targeted Drone Production: You can maintain the hive’s balance and channel drone production to specific areas exactly where you want drone brood.

This will reduce your work and improve the structure of your frames inside the hive.

Integrated Pest Management: Since Varroa mites favor drone cells, concentrated drone cell areas make monitoring and managing mite levels easier.

Benefits and Balance

Manipulating drone cell production is an effective technique, yet it’s essential to avoid overdoing it.

Too many drone cells may stress the hive’s resources, while balanced use can make a powerful addition to hive management.