On 3/18/2011 10:41 PM, Bob Harrison wrote:
> I seem to recall we went through this whole thing once before.
> Is there anything new?

I can't remember what was gone through before, but this may be new.

I know the theory of the Housel positioning of foundation. The Ys face 
down when facing the center comb of the broodnest. What I didn't know 
was why. Dee explained the theory last summer at Leominster.

The Ys form a shelf in the bottom of a cell. If the Y is facing down, 
the shelf is facing up, and if the Y is facing up the shelf is facing 
down. With down facing Ys and the shelf facing up, the queen lays the 
egg and it will be facing up as it is laid on an up-facing shelf. This 
is as it should be and brood cycle proceeds normally. If on the other 
hand the Y is facing up and the shelf down, when the queen lays an egg 
the egg is facing down and this causes supercedure.

I have a hard time with this theory. First, the Ys are actually where 3 
cells come together on the other side of the foundation, so can't effect 
the cell on the other side. Second, If the Ys are facing down on the 
inside surface of the comb (foundation) are they not facing up on the 
other? Would this not mean that the so called shelves are facing up on 
one side and down on the other? Does this supercedure from down facing 
eggs only happen on one side of a comb?

And third, I have grafted many thousands of larvae from worker combs in 
my queen rearing program. I have yet to see any shelves in any cells. 
All are concave and evenly rounded.

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