Hi Guys,

Here's some more information that might be interesting.

I attempted to get more straight comb in my tbh by shuffling frames. I
inserted empty top bars between broodnest comb. And I also slowly moved the
broodnest toward the rear of the hive placing empty top bars toward the
entrance.

After examining BerkeyDavid comb photos, see
http://wind.prohosting.com/tbhguy/bee/compa.htm

I decided to evaluate the effects of shuffling comb, a common practice and
one that I use in tbh management. I went back and rearranged one tbh to
mimic the broodnest structure I'd seen in my first tbh. The second hive was
left as is, with its shuffled comb.

The rearranged hive is ok without symptoms of mite infestation. The shuffled
hive now has lots of crawlers with Deformed Wing Virus and Milky Wing Virus.
Both of these hives have queens grafted from the same stock, mated in the
same yard and set next to each other.

It's a small test, but for me, a significant one. Although broodnest
organization is strong, it can be easily disrupted. The bees simply have no
mechanism to deal with moving comb. I hoped that the bees orientation to the
broodnest structure was so strong that shuffling combs would have little
effect. But the opposite is the case. The broodnest structure can be very
easily disrupted and the advantages of the natural small cell comb lost.

This poses some interesting challenges when managing top bar hive comb if
the advantages of a small cell core are to be realized.

My small cell hives, in the same yard, are doing fine. I haven't seen a
single mite or any symptoms in those hives.

This also shows just how fast a hive can go down hill. These top bar hives
were started this spring from their small cell neighbors.

Regards
Dennis

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::