Something to bear in mind when testing new foundation size or new comb, and its effect on varroa

> Old honey bee brood combs are more infested by the mite Varroa destructor than are new brood combs. Giancarlo A. PICCIRILLO, David De JONG

> We had expected that there would be fewer V. destructor in the smaller brood cells in the old combs than in the relatively larger brood cells in the new combs, as previous experiments had indicated a positive correlation between cell size and infestation rate.

> However the cells in the old combs were much more infested than those in the new (naturally built) combs, even though the former were significantly smaller. The old comb cells were four to over five times as infested as the new brood comb cells. It is clear that these mites strongly preferred old worker brood comb cells to new worker brood cells. However, the cues that the mites use to make this discrimination are unknown. 

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