14x12 brood box and frames

[Jonnyl]

First time post, excuse me if my question is ridiculous. I've attended my local association, now built my hives, frames etc and seem to have read every word on beekeeping which is when this idea struck me. I'm going to use a 14x12, I decided on them early as the importance of 'bee space' resonated with me. I've read that drone brood comb can be excised from the brood to help control varroa and thought why not place a standard super frame in the 14x12 to allow the bees to build drone comb underneath and then cut it out. I don't know if this is possible using a super frame or even worthwhile considering that I will only receive a nuc of bees to get started with which will likely be well prepared and have low levels of mites in any case. However it may apply next year and I would very appreciate the benefit of your knowledge and experience in such matters. If it is a option, where would I place the frame in relation to the 14x12 frames from the nuc? Thank you all

 

[maddydog]

If you put a shallow frame in a 14*12 box the bees will build comb on the bottom. What type of comb you get depends on the strength of the colony and the time of year.
Whether it is a good idea to do as you suggest is another matter. I prefer to reduce the Varroa load of my colonies by other measures that don't involve a drain of resources and deprives the locality of precious drones

 

[maddydog]

Not a ridiculous question

 

[Angry_Mob]

This helps explain it: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1079

 

[maddydog]

This helps explain it: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadDocument.cfm?id=1079

It sure does.

'when performed correctly it can reduce population growth by up to 50%'

Given when peak production of drones is, I'd be very concerned about my winter bees without other control methods.

 

[Jonnyl]

Thank you both. Perhaps a topic top play with next year as my biggest concern is to see them through the winter. Maybe thinking too far ahead of myself. It does however seem an effective measure if performed correctly by not extracting all of the drone brood. Thanks again for your help.