Hello all,
Many of you have asked my thoughts on Dee Lusbys work and cell size. Dee and
i disagree about the when ,why and who of the change in cell size. Both of
us agree that cell size wasn't important until apis melifera became host to
varroa.
Dee & Ed now have got hundreds of hives on 4.9mm foundation.
To small you say? I don't think so!
I will quote from page 79 of "The Encyclopedia of Beekeeping" by Roger Morse
and Ted Hooper.
quote: Normal Honeycomb is of two sizes:worker comb has cells 5mm in
diameter,and drone comb has cells 6mm across.
If normal worker comb is 5mm why is all the worlds foundation on the market
from 5.3 to 5.7mm?
The only logical conclusion about Dees work is that when apis melifera is on
the right cell size foundation varroa can't build up to the levels needed to
kill its host. Dees ten years of work has proven to me she was indeed right
about her theory.
Food for thought:
at 4.6mm worker cell size varroa can't reproduce in cells.
At 4.7mm worker cell size only one mite can possibly reproduce.
When you think about Dr. Shiminuki's theory about the screen bottoms you
really see the importance of the above. Every mite which falls below lowers
the fall mite count. Hence every mite not allowed to reproduce greatly
reduces the fall mite count.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa,Missouri U.S.