> I'd think a colony that has a range of bee sizes is more adaptable to its floral sources etc. throughout the season.

Waldemar,
        I wholely agree, and in discussions with Dee and almost every other small cell or whole beekeeper I speak with also agrees. However the ideal situation comes with its own price which can be a serious disadvantage for larger scale operations. The loss of uniformity. For a large operation, the ability to have readily interchangeable equipment (which includes drawn comb) can enhance overall ease of management.

Running a foundationless system like I do ties own's hands and nearly forces you to manage each hive individually. When the bees are allowed to design their own broodnest structure, the beekeeper is limited in his/her choices. I choose to bear this burden, but in the end I believe I and the bees benefit from my willingness to work a little harder.

Dee might chime in and explain how she discovered the benefits of small cell beekeeping by using foundationless systems, including top bar hives for observation purposes.

Foundationless strictly from a colony health and vigor point of view is ideal, but it is a limitation as well if you require equipment uniformity. Foundationless is far from uniform. A core brood comb must remain in the core brood nest, and peripheral comb must remain in its own section. Moving combs from one part of the hive to another creates a disturbance that almost unfailingly for me andseveral others disturbs the structure of the colony enough to do actual, long term and lasting harm in most areas of interest from declining health to production levels.

Scot Mc Pherson
McPherson Family Honey Farms
Davenport, IA
Bradenton, FL

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