Dave wrote:
My apologies to the moderator for repetition, but as Peter's reply
totally misrepresents what I said, I include all of it...
I made no suggestion of using natural comb.
My reply:
My turn to apologize to Dave and Allen. They both pointed out that my
replies to their messages totally miss the point they were trying to
make. Perhaps I can explain. I have immense respect for them and most
of the regular contributors to this discussion. On these latest
points, however, I do not happen to agree with them. So, in my effort
to avoid offending, perhaps I left too much out.
Dave wrote:
I agree that there are many good reasons for using foundation, but why
not use foundation that is based on research rather than the historical
legacy sizes that we have available ? Why not use cell sizes that are
appropriate to the races of bees that are being kept ?
My thoughts:
In the US there are no bee races; all the bees are a hodge podge. I
doubt as well, the accuracy of measurements made a hundred years ago.
I do not say that they did not have the tools to measure to the
nearest tenth of a millimeter, but I question whether anyone thought
it was important to do so.
When Root says five cells to the inch, he is NOT saying accurate to
the hundredth or thousandth of an inch. He does acknowledge that the
figure is approximate and so it should be, since there is no correct
size for any race. There is an average size.
I am reminded of the choice I make daily. I wear surgical gloves in my
current work most of the day. There are three sizes: small, medium and
large. Human beings certainly come in more than three sizes and yet I
have never heard anyone say: "they don't have my size."
For many decades bee suppliers offered foundation in three sizes:
worker, drone and queen (cups). Now you can get other sizes and
various materials. I imagine you can get other sizes of gloves as
well, if you shop around.
> My own preference is for pure beeswax foundation, properly hand wired. These
> combs will be strong enough for most purposes and can be easily cut out and
> rendered, and replaced, unlike plastic based fdn.
Dave writes:
I fail to understand how this sentence fits into the discussion.
Man, you guys are strict. You talk about whatever you want and I reply
with what comes into my mind. Allen wants to talk about doing research
into small cells, you second the call. Frankly, if anyone wants to
fund it it, I would happily do a five year project with two dozen
hives to explore whatever hypothesis is being proposed.
What is the hypothesis anyway? "Does small deviation in cell size make
any difference at all in the long run? Or not?" You see, I don't think
it does, so why would I devote hundreds of hours trying to find out.
And don't rush to point out how close minded I am, it's just that we
only live once and we only have so much time to spend. That's the
bottom line, you see. If I were to apply for funds to develop a
project, I would sooner pick something that interested me, that I
thought had the potential to make a difference.
Like bee breeding. And I certainly don't mean trying to breed pure
races, whatever that might mean. (My apologizes to Dave and the pure
race advocates). We have a situation now where we have pests from all
over the world, some interbreeding or interacting with native species.
The only way forward is to accept this fact and attempt to breed
plants and animals that are up to this challenge.
By the way, anyway who peruses my comments on this list over the last
decade will note at least two things. One, I do not have fixed
opinions on anything and am willing to disavow anything I have ever
said, if proven wrong, or if new and better information is obtained.
Second, I have little or no confidence that conventional bee breeding
can get us out of this predicament. I am greatly encouraged by the
writings of MEA McNeil in the recent American Bee Journals.
But -- I am of the unpopular and unconventional opinion that there is
something inherently wrong with bee breeding as it is commonly
conducted or envisioned. My own concept of a breeding project is much
different from anyone else's, and if anyone has the money, I am ready
to get started on it.
Peter L Borst
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