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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
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Mon, 10 Oct 2005 19:55:54 GMT
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I'd like to thank everyone for getting back on the cell measurements.  [I used to perform mechanical inspections to 0.0001" accuracy at the outset of my engineering career... and wanted to be sure I was using the right datum to measure from...]

>>...wall to wall over 10 cells, when you do the math and remove the extra wall...

If you measure across 10 cells, from the outside face of cell 1 to the opposite outside face of cell 10, subract one wall thickness, and divide by 10, then you will get the AVERAGE width of a cell from the MIDPOINT of one wall thickness to the MIDPOINT of a parallel wall thickness (there are only two parallel walls in every cell :).

No problem there as long as we are talking averages.  I've been saving and looking at feral combs and find a significant variation in cell sizes across the combs.

My observations mirror what Dennis Murrell has described.  The cell width (and the cell depth!) varies greatly depending on what it's primarly used for which is based on its relative location in the [feral] hive.  Ferals have great many cells at 4.9mm width but it's evident this is not the only size.

>>Some... have brood cores of 4.6mm... I have hives ranging 4.6mm - 5.2mm...

I suppose as long as the queen's abdomen can fit in a small cell it's not a problem...:)  Emerged bees continue to eat pollen and grow some more.  From what I've read, the smaller cell size in the broodnest helps bring out grooming behavior in bees.  The other plus is being able to keep warm the more concentrated brood in the late winter when temps swing greatly.

>>For the record, I use no foundation at all.

Do you install empty frames and let the bees fill them with comb [as in a tbh]?  Then you'll surely see a range of cell sizes across a frame.  Bees will strive to lay out a natural cell pattern which has a cell size progression.

Waldemar

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