allen dick wrote: > The authors say: "Varroa's preference for larger comb cells could be a > contributing factor to the 60% higher infestation rates of adult bees > that was found in apiary colonies, which contain both Italian- and > Africanized-sized comb, compared to feral Africanized colonies, with > only natural-sized Africanized comb, examined in the same region in > Brazil (Gonçalves et al., 1982). It is too bad that they did not prove > that. You came to the same conclusions that I did. I wonder just what causes the selection of the larger cells. If some mechanism was found, it could lead to another Varroa control (which we do have with drone trapping, but could be something less labor intensive). It could also be totally random and we are not seeing what we think we see, as was shown with the organization of brood, honey and pollen on a frame. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::