Ed Geels <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Those people using small cell bees don't worry about any chemicals at all.
Ed



Seems with all the debate and claims concerning the resistance of bees from small cell brood frames to mites that there would be some designed studies conducted which would produce emperical evidence of mite resistance instead of anecdotal evidence from observations from beekeepers.  It would seem simple to set up.  Dee Lusby runs a big operation and is a strong advocate of the small cell process.  It would seem to be rather simple to run ten or twenty hives in the midst of her operation that would run on the current "large" cell foundation.  Move the appropriate number ofbee populations from her reduced size bees to the "large" cell hives, let them breed up to the size that most of the rest of the nation is running and then record emperical evidence of what happens to those populations compared to the "small cell" bees that are located right beside them.    

Maybe I don't understand the complexities involved in such a study but from where I am sitting it would seem a fairly simple study to set up and conduct.  And, probably it is something that I should do on my own.  But right now I am involved with another study and having difficulties meeting the requirements for that study and also in the process of apiary expansion.  I don't really have the time or resources to conduct another study.  I especially don't have time to breed down the size of my bees that I understand needs to occur to produce bees adapted to the small cell stucture.

Are there any small cell advocates out there who would be willing to spend the time and resources to conduct a valid, side by side, study of small cell colonies against regular cell colonies?  I, for one, would be  very interested in the results.

Mike in LA


 		
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