Steve said: Everything should be looked at in terms
>  of how far away from that natural state it gets.

Steve, I totally agree with you, and always use that as my frame of reference.

I've been spending quite a bit of time thinking about this very
issue--looking at various other hive configurations rather than U.S.
dimensions, how to super, where to draw comb, etc.

If I were a hobbyist, I would definitely be experimenting with other
methods.  Unfortunately, since much of my business is in selling nucs,
and being graded in almonds, I need to use standard frames.

On one hand, I can remember when bees thrived on the Permadent
wax-coated plastic foundation that I used to always use (only changed
when Mann Lake and Dadant started selling preassembled frames).  Since
bees thrived then, I strongly question whether such foundation has
much to do with our current problems.

However, that is not to say that bees do better on them than on
natural combs--I do not know.  Beekeepers that I respect such as
Dennis Murrel, Joe Waggle, and Michael Bush have made enough
observations about naturally-produced combs with the assortment of
cell sizes that I am intrigued.  Years ago, Steve Taber used such
combs in his queenrearing operation.  I plan to try some myself this
season.

I used the plastic HSC combs to test to see if varroa levels could be
affected by cell size, since the HSC cells couldn't be modified by the
bees, and since they didn't require "regression."  The trial clearly
demonstrated that varroa was affected by HSC combs, but does not
definitively make the case for small cell, due the the other variables
of plastic vs. beeswax, cell wall thickness, etc.

In light of Jennifer Berry's and my trials, it appears that varroa
reproduction is indeed affected by cell size--in one case it was
enhanced, in the other depressed.  How very curious!

Science aside, there is also an aesthetic involved in combs.  I had a
hard time going to plastic foundation, and I doubt that you will ever
see me use a plastic frame (other than in a trial).  I grew up with
wiring and embedding wax foundation in wooden frames.  I loved the
combs, but disliked the work.

If I find that natural combs in wooden frames work for me as well as
they do for Dennis and Michael, I'd love it!  For one, it would save
me time and money (financial), for two it may have an effect upon the
mite (scientific), for three it is closer to the "natural" state of
the bee (biological default), and for four, it would be aesthetically
pleasing to me.

But it wouldn't be because some "holier than thou" New Age beekeeping
guru told me that that's what I "should" do!  (Guess I'm still irked
from the conference yesterday).

Randy Oliver

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