Jim makes some good comments.

>      ...   6.0     115% ...

For those who wish to look at a chart of sizes which may or may not help
get a visual grasp on the basis of this discussion, visit
http://www.internode.net/honeybee/Misc/CellCount.htm

> Is it any wonder that bees who can be agreed to be in the habit
> of making worker cells that are within a few percent of 5.2mm
> would "recognize" something so much bigger as "drone-sized"?

It is my understanding that bees vary in what drawn cells they will select
for drone raising, and that season, cell availability and position, queen
condition etc. will have an influence.  What natural size  a given hive
will *build* for drones, on the other hand seems quite fixed for any given
hive.

> > So for the experiment Allen Dick suggested, perhaps those
> > regressed down now on 4.9mm completely, like Dennis
> > Murrell, myself, and Lee even in N. Mexico to give variation
> > of sites, perhaps we should take ONE frame of drawn out
> > bigger plastic or wax based comb of 5.4mm or bigger, and
> > place it into the broodnest and see.

To save everyone looking it up, what I have always suggested is simply
shaking some of Lusbys hives into hives of drawn comb of the common
commercial sizes and running them side by side with their other hives.  For
a number of complex reasons, that I don't have time or energy to detail
here, I have decided that this is probably not as good and simple a plan as
it seems on the surface, and am not advocating this experiment at present.

Unless I misunderstand, what Dee is talking about here is something a bit
different than what I -- along with others like PB -- was suggesting.
Nonetheless, it is a step towards that kind of test and might give some
interesting results.

I have often wondered what is really happening in a hive where 5.4 and 5.25
and 5.2 combs are randomly used in the brood nest -- as happens in many
commercial beekeeping operations, mine included.

I must also state that when I visited Lusbys I don't recall seeing any
drone brood, so my comments only apply to the time I was there.  Maybe Dee
will tell us what happens when drones are being reared?  Do the mites get
to build up a bit?

I know, or at least have heard from usually reliable sources, that although
the best lines of the Russian bees do have varroa reproducing in their
hives, that the Russian bees are able to keep the mites to low levels.

allen
http://www.internode.net/honeybee/diary/