Dave Cushman wrote:-
> In a managed hive, whilst the cells get shorter in old comb and the midrib
> thickens the basic cell size does not change much as the bees chew away
most
> of the sidewalls and renew it with fresh wax.

I have to say that it looks smaller to me but I have not measured it and you
may well be correct.  I don't want to discourage the flow of ideas on varroa
control but this one seems not to be very practical.  Firstly how do you
make the bees produce a small cell.  The bees have to get inside the cell so
they can not produce a cell smaller than their own size.  The only way I can
see of obtaining smaller bees is if my original idea of the old comb is
correct.  Then each year your bees will be smaller and you may be able to
persuade them to produce smaller comb.  There will be a stage where you then
need a smaller queen as the cells will become so small that the queen can no
longer get in to lay her eggs.  How do you produce a smaller queen?  Will
the smaller bees bring in less honey?    It seems to me that to produce
smaller bees would be a long and expensive process and we don't know whether
it would have any effect on the varroa mite.

Harry