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From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 5 Dec 2011 12:41:29 -0500
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Dave deJong has co-authored much work supporting small cell comb as a deterrent to varroa

> Three types (sizes) of brood combs were placed in each of six Africanized honey bee colonies: new (self-built) Africanized comb, new Italian comb (that the bees made from Italian-sized commercial foundation), and new Carniolan comb (built naturally by Carniolan bees). About 100 cells of each type were analyzed in each colony. The Africanized comb cells were significantly smaller in (inner) width (4.84 mm) than the European-sized comb cells (5.16 and 5.27 mm for Italian and Carniolan cells, respectively). The brood cell infestation rates (percentage cells infested) were significantly higher in the Carniolan-sized comb cells (19.3%) than in the Italian and Africanized cells (13.9 and 10.3%, respectively). 

> The Carniolan-sized cells also had a significantly larger number of invading adult female mites per 100 brood cells (24.4) than did the Italian-sized cells (17.7) and the natural-sized Africanized worker brood cells (15.6). European-sized worker brood cells were always more infested than the Africanized worker brood cells in the same colony. There was a highly significant correlation (P<0.01) between cell width and the rate of infestation with varroa in four of the six colonies. The small width comb cells produced by Africanized honey bees may have a role in the ability of these bees to tolerate infestations by Varroa destructor, furthermore it appears that natural-sized comb cells are superior to over-sized comb cells for disease resistance.

The influence of brood comb cell size on the reproductive behavior of the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor in Africanized honey bee colonies -- Giancarlo A. Piccirillo  and D. De Jong. Genet. Mol. Res. 2 (1): 36-42 (2003)

> Among physical factors, brood cell size has been well studied; it has been documented that this factor can affect the invasion and reproduction rates of Varroa mites. This study is the first report that cell width can restrict the reproduction of V. destructor. Moreover, we demonstrated that an aspect of the physical environment can modulate the reproductive behavior of this parasite, resulting in new hypotheses on relations between nutrition and reproductive success of the mites.

Brood cell size of Apis mellifera modifies the reproductive behavior of Varroa destructor -- Matias Maggi, et al. Exp Appl Acarol (2010) 50:269–279

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