I’m not keen on killing off drone brood as it can disrupt bee diversity and gene distribution and basically it is anti-social to your local Drone Congregation Area for your neighbours Queens mating’s - if all our “Neighbours” killed off the majority of their drones we all loose Bee Gene Diversity - not good for the bees
As a method of Varroa control it is not a viable process - in fact a study done in the UK linked to COLOS shows the most effective control of Varroa is actually 2 sublimation’s of oxalic acid at the time of broodlessness - when there is a 99% chance of killing off the varroa - done in a broodless time - unless you have a varroa factory, or you neighbour has, then treating for varroa only needs to carried out at broodless times - newly caught swarms, buying a box of bees and middle of winter.
But if you really felt inclined to cull drones as a part of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) then I have a suggestion…
Eating the surplus culled drones larvae, a very good source of protein, after you do a varroa count you can freeze the larvae for up to 10 months. If you really feel it necessary to cull drone brood - don’t waste it.
Would you kill a fish and not eat it? Would you breed cattle or sheep, kill it and not eat it? Then why waste a good source of protein?
You could put them fresh into a jar of honey and sell them to a posh deli.
You can’t do anything with frozen bee larvae/pupae of any description. It turns to gloop.
Chickens like larvae. Maybe instead of eating them you could feed them to the chickens then eat the chickens
Very true ! My hens love dead bees n larva. I see them near the hives cleaning up all summer. But doubt I’m going to consume any. I have been asked more than once to sell comb with live larva. Those babies are worth more in my hives.
I agree. Bee larvae/pupae is a great source of protein/amino acid & list of vitamins & enzymes as long as your arm. This is the easy method I devised for harvesting it.
This in one of the many methods we used to cook it.
I would be happy to work with any local food scientist who wanted to conduct studies to consider bee larvae/pupae as a food source for human consumption.
G’day Bob, I’m probably more adventurous, Wilma’s courageous for going along with me:). When you consider eating “bugs” as a food source for humans. Bee larvae/pupae would have to be the cleanest, considering the environment it comes out of, plus what it’s made from. Royal jelly, pollen & honey.
I haven’t done anything with bee larvae since we made these videos. However I look at the drone larvae I cut out from time to time & think “what a waste”.
@McFoxdale, I haven’t tried it with ice cream:) It would be something to consider.
Jeff, do you think there is a way of mass producing bee larvae?
I can see hoppers…whether grass or locusts can be easily grown en masse but find it difficult to see how bees could be grown in industrial quantities.
As far as any insect food is concerned, it doesn’t have to be served “Au Naturel”. Insect protein can be rendered and added to other food like a flour. That would make it eminently acceptable?
Hi Dee, one can only speculate as to how far food scientists will go with bee larvae/pupae into the future & whether it will ever be highly sought after. I saw videos of foie gras being produced. I think bee larvae would be easier to produce than foie gras. If bee larvae ever did get fashionable to eat, it maybe only the rich & famous that can afford it or beekeepers that will be able to eat it.
Hi Busso, no they have their own bees. They have bought honey from me in the past. They have one TBH & two flow hives. A group of them did a class with me & they got their bees for the flow hives from me. They had some issues with the bees a few months ago. That was the last I heard.
I like the idea of growing food on the verge. I grow all of my food in my backyard. I think if I was going to grow food on the verge, I’d plant potatoes or sweet potatoes. Something that people wouldn’t be tempted to steal from you.
When the ladies were buying honey from me, I inquired about whether the produce was available for the public to pick. At the time it wasn’t, but the public picked it anyway. They were picking immature lemons, thinking they were limes.
Not sure if Western society is ready for Bee Grubs or not … But I’ve been approached by my Vietnsmese n other Asian friends for bee larva/grubs as a health food. Apparently some of these Asian groups have been eating bee grubs for centuries.
I don’t really have that many extras to give away so they stopped asking me. Just an observation …,
Interesting but I’m staying with my ham n eggs thus far.
G’day Gerald, Wilma & I have eaten a lot of bee grubs, however we’re not your (me that is) average Westerner. Wilma reluctantly went along with it. It’s easy, just put an empty frame in the brood box so the bees make mostly drones, then take it out at the desired time. To harvest the grubs, simply put the comb in water hot enough to melt the wax, then strain the grubs out. What I did then is pour boiling water over them while they are still in the strainer to get rid of any residue wax. They kept good in the fridge for a week. They also froze well.
It’s a great way to get a good supply of high quality protein without any carbon footprint. The good part is, it’s free!!!
Yaaaah ! I’m with you on this one Dee but my Vietnamese family would be right in there with Jeff n Wilma … . I think I’ll cook up some scramble eggs with ham.
I’d like to be able to say that I used solar power, but I can’t. Producing solar panels has a significant carbon footprint anyway. I used a little bit of coal fired electricity to boil the water.
Lighting a fire to boil the water probably has a carbon footprint. How would it be if we used heat from the fireplace we lit to keep us warm to boil the water?
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. I think I’ll cook up some scramble eggs with ham.