More from the Norlandbeekeepers list: --- From: Dennis Murrell Date: Mon Nov 26, 2001 8:24 pm Subject: Re: [Norlandbeekeepers] Re: Russian Bees and Small Cells Hello Robert and Everyone, < May we have some details? Your environment is so different from Dee's that it would be really interesting to compare <your results. I have posted some of my observations on other lists but will share some of my impressions here. Initially I didn't think that a 10% difference in cell diameter would affect the size of the bee so significantly. The smaller bees are noticeably smaller and much more active than their larger sisters. Once around the smaller bees for awhile they become the norm. While away visiting over the holidays, the weather allowed a little flight time for bees in the area. I spotted a bee working and had to look twice to make sure it wasn't a wild bee it appeared so large, but it was a honeybee worker from larger cell foundation. Another very different and startling impression was how visible the varroa mites are on the smaller bees. I seldom saw a mite on my bees during hive inspections before switching to small cells. I would monitor mite fall and sample bees from the brood area but mites were almost always hidden between the plates on the ventral side of the abdomen. With the smaller bees the mites are completely located on the exterior of the bee and are readily seen. I have yet to see a mite on a healthy bee between the plates. They locate exclusively in four spots on the anterior part of the abdomen. Only rarely do I see one on top of the thorax. I have seen mites between the abdominal plates on a small cell bee caught below a screened bottom board in a mite trap. The bee had been there for days and was chilled. It's the only exception. With the mites so visible my emotional reaction was that the infestation was much worse than it really was. Testing showed that the infestation was no worse than normal and the hives were doing fine. This was a hard emotional response for me to overcome as I had been doctoring hives for decades. This is the first year I have not found a single chalk brood mummy in any of my hives. Small cell? Russian bees? Or screened bottom board? Mite fall was much the same as from my large cell hives until August. At that time the bees began to aggressively attack the varroa mites. Natural mite fall increased dramatically. Hives that had been dropping less than 30 mites/day were suddenly dropping hundreds. Lots of these mites had been damaged by the bees. Some hives had bit over 90% of the fallen mites. Lots of male mites and immatures also appeared in the natural mite fall. Before August it was almost exclusively mature females. I had looked for bee damaged mites in my own selection program but hadn't seen any until now. All races damaged the mites. Natural mite fall continued to increase and then decreased until less than 30 mites/day were falling by November. The bees uncapped sealed, varroa infested larva at the purple eyed stage and eventually removed them. I inspected the uncapped or bald headed brood while examining the hives and every uncapped pupa was heavily infested with varroa, often with 4 or 5 mature females present. I found only a few with immatures and males present. My uncapping about a hundred sealed brood on the same frame failed to yield even a single mite, even with drone brood examined. I think the varroa might be concentrated into a few worker cells or possibly the bald headed brood is attractive to the varroa. The bees don't remove the pupa immediately after uncapping even with hygienic bees. Some of it may survive and hatch, but not much mite reproduction had occurred. I brought a frame home to photograph and the next day decided to inspect the bald headed brood. Not a single mite could be found where plenty were found the day before. It appears the mites leave the cells when the brood frame is removed from the hive as I saw a mite or two on the frame while photographing it. When examining hives the occasional mite damaged bee would be found, even with single digit mite infestations levels. Again maybe the mites are concentrating on a few individuals that are particularly attractive or susceptible. Overall I had a variety of races on small cell comb in a completely different climate than Tucson's and all of them drew the comb and cleansed the brood just as described by Ed and Dee Lusby. Best Wishes Dennis