Keith said:
 Even though I may be a proponent I only recommend small cells be tried and
trialed before deciding to switch or not.

Cost is always a factor with production colonies. Downsizing to small cell
invovles cost both in labor and replacing comb. When I found varroa was
still around on 4.9mm cell size I was not as interested.
I see value in the screened bottom board but am not ready to cut holes in my
skids possibly weakening the skids  for the benifits.

Keith said:
Well I think hobbyist use these too, I was hoping for a real secret.

Secret for Keith:

Knowing what is going on in your bee hives is the real secret. Guessing what
is going on will get you in trouble every time.

Keith said:
 To be honest the queen is a large part of how many
numbers of bees there are in a colony but is not the limiting factor.

All queens are not equal! Good queens do not cost but pay dividends.

Keith said:
You may want to take the time to go and visit the Lusby's and see their
results with Labor/Cost with using small cells, but you
already know some of that history. It might be worth it to you to see them
again since you are with an open mind.

Dee has offered many times. I have got very little free time. I would love
to see Dee's bees. In Jacksonville (last January) Allen Dick, Aaron Morris
and I discussed Allen's days he spent with Dee in great detail. Allen was
impressed with Dee and her bees which speaks volumes with me!

I hope Ed Lusby has recovered from his stroke and is back working with the
beekeeping.

Bob

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