Hello Joe,

I realize that those in small cell may all know the information you
posted. However, for the small cell beekeepers I have had experience
with that information was never explained in that fashion. Even with
large cell all three of these factors are necessary. Beekeepers that I
know for the most part just put a queen in a box with some bees and
brood and expect her to produce under whatever conditions. When things
do not work well in the hive they blame everything except management.

Yes, there will always be factors we can not control but a good
beekeeper controls the ones they can, not leaving the hive to nature
alone. Commercial beekeepers can not spend the same amount of time on a
hive as a hobbyist. They therefore have to be more knowledgeable about
the workings inside their hives to manage their hives well or their
profits suffer accordingly.

Queens need to be better selected for the local conditions we keep
hearing over and over again. Many beekeepers I know do not seem to be
able to grasp what that means in terms of temperature, forage,
parasites, disease, etc.

Thank you and all on this list who try to make us all better beekeepers.
I would rather learn from others successes and failures then have to
make them all myself. Life is just too short for that.

Michael Traynor
www.mdbee.com


J. Waggle wrote:

>1/3 is environmental, small cell size
>1/3 is diet, selecting locations with a variety of
>nutritional forage.
>1/3 is breeding, the Acclimatisation of your bees to
>fit your local environment.
>

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