In a message dated 03/03/2010 21:44:10 GMT Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Can they not also build various-sized worker cells as they see fit?
This is something you can judge for yourself by measuring what your own
bees do. The conventional way is to measure across 10 cells the shortest way
(across flats) in millimetres and divide the result by 10. If you are
going to do a lot of it, it might be worth while making a measuring tool from a
piece of card with a truncated V cut out with lines to cover the usual
range of cell sizes.
Whether your frames are the 'warm' or the 'cold' way might make a
difference. On my top bar hive where the combs are the warm way (parallel with the
front of the hive) the average cell size is greater at the front and rear
than in the middle. Shown on a graph the peaks and troughs, when smoothed
out, produce a shallow U shape. Contrary to expectation, you don't always get
the same measurements back to back on the same comb.
Measurements across the combs - top right to middle to bottom left - also
showed variation: in this instance an average of just over 5.3 mm towards
the outside of the comb and a little under 5.2 in the middle.
Chris
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