Dee said:

>Interesting this being said. For I would see it as a positive management 
>manipulation, like exposing young children in too steril an environment to 
>a sand/dirt box to get sublethal dosages of pathogens to in a way keep them 
>healthier.

The sandbox analogy might be more appropriate to drifting bees in yards than 
comb transfer.

>So relate this more to inter transfer of commercial extracting combs/wets 
>between hives, yards, or simply drawn out combs with empty frames or pollen 
>even. Does it give colonies so introduced good or bad vectors of pathogens? 
>For if never exposed, how can one get/stay healthy???

Regardless of good or bad, it is difficult for me to imagine trying to 
operate without comb transfer.  Maybe if you were a top bar hive 
beekeeper.... But comb transfer is the main vector for transferring AFB.

I once had a beekeeper from Surinam (formerly Dutch Guiana) stay with me. 
Their beekeeper's cooperative had a mobile extraction trailer that they took 
to member's yards where they extracted and then put the supers back on. 
That would somewhat decrease the transfer of comb pathogens,  but not 
entirely, as I doubt if they disinfected between yards.  Anyway, the world 
is not a sterile environment and that is why species have immune systems. 
But I still don't want to transfer combs with AFB.

>Also, one more observation that needs noting: How does it change relative 
>to cell size?...........have you looked? Noted?......:>)

I don't know, and it was not an issue back when they did the study I posted.

Stan

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