Hello Allen,

I like to comment to your notion that other factors and not cell size
might be the reason for "enhanced varroa resistance" for the AHB. For
that possibility I will summerize just a few date I have collected
from the internet from various sources

Developing time from egg laying to hatching of the imago:

     European Bee:

     Worker: 21 days;   Drone:  24 days;   queen: 16 days.

     Africanized honey bee:

     Worker: 18.5 days; Drone:  24 days;   queen: 15 days.

     Note that the AHB workers hatch 2 1/2 days earlier.

If these data are correct (I did not measure them myself) than the
developmental time for varroa on larvae will be shorter in the AHB
compared to the EHB due to a quiker development of the AHB bee. Thus
the shorter time span will lead to smaller numbers of varroa
developing. This might well be the case for the known "resistance" of
the AHB to varroa. If this is the case, than we should search vor EHB
having a shorter developmental time form the egg to the imago.

 Now the question: Should these ideas be connected with the smaller
cell size?

If we assume that in slightly smaller cells the imago - ie the bee -
is somewhat smaller, than it would need a bit less of feed and thus
possibly develop in a somewhat shorter timespan - lets say not 21 days
but for instance only 20 days. This would lead to a shorter
developmental timespan for varros and thus could well be a selective
aspect for "varroa tolerance".

Conclusion: If there is some truth to such ideas one should measure
the developmental time from egg to imago on combs with small cell size
compared to combs with normal cell size and see if we do get
statistically significant differences. If so, we might in deed see a
correlation to cell size and "varroa tolerance".

I like to stress that this is at the moment hypothetical. However one
could meassure the time span from egg to imago on combs with different
cell size and see if there is a statistically siginificant difference
within short time and the outcome would be of interest. Hopefully
someone will do it quickly.

If this is the case, than we should search for EHB having a shorter
developmental time form the egg to the imago.  This would suggest
further that different strategies for breeding "varroa tolerant bees"
might be useful and might be possible.

I hope these ideas are helpfull for the ongoing discussion.

 Best regards,  Ahlert Schmidt

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