Hello all,
All beekeepers interested in downsizing to the new 4.9mm foundation Dadant
is going to run let me show you a simple way.

On page 726 of the September 2000 American Bee Journal is a picture of two
combs. The caption says "These old black combs need to be culled from your
hives". I suspect their are millions on these combs sitting waiting to be
melted down.

Quote from article:During Dr. Jaycox's examinations of bees, he found that
after a time cells in those old ,black combs became smaller and bees
emerging from them were actually 17 percent smaller. It is amazing how much
residue is stored in those cells from various sources.

comment: Dr. Jaycoxs work makes be believe stronger that my goals of puttin
a.melifera on a 4.7mm-4.8mm is indeed possible!

Quote fro "The Hive and the Honeybee" copy 1946 page 219
It would require the thickening of the cell walls only 0.004 to 0.005 inch
in order to reduce the normal cells of the Italian bees to the size built by
the smaller German or black bees. Michailov(variability of bees and their
combs 1927) has shown that after 16 or 18 generations the diameter of the
cells is reduced 5.89 per cent and that this reduction caused a SIGNIFICANT
reduction in the size of the bees.

Comment: Look at the combs on page 726 . These can be used to downsize
with. dig thru your operation and use those small diameter combs to
downsize. They are allready drawn and perfect. You can cull them later if
you wish. Ask around those combs may be free for the asking or vary
inexpensive. Watch carefully for signs of American foulbrood when using
any old combs. The commercial beekeeper might be happy to supply you to try
on a small scale and you could give the comb back later after your hives are
on new 4.9mm foundation from Dadant! Unlikely but possible. The hardest part
and most time consuming task would be the amount of time spent trying to
explain why you would want "old black comb" to the commercial beekeeper.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison