There is only one good evaluation of small cell beekeeping that I have
seen to date, and that is Dennis' research at:

http://bwrangler.atspace.com/bee/sxpe.htm

There is a lot of reinventing his wheel going on here so I strongly
suggest a look at what he has found. It should clarify things a bit.

There is much more there than just small cell but also bee measurements,
seasonal adjustments by the bees, and the range of cell sizes on a frame
and the different patterns from frame to frame. It is a lot more complex
than 4.9.

There is something to small cell beekeeping, but obviously it is not
just the small cells.

It could be just forcing Varroa into worker sized cells when they prefer
drone and something is triggered in the bee to cull out the Varroa. Or
it could be the seasonal size of the bee coupled with the larger or
smaller cells and the queens laying pattern. It could be a combination
of the two. Or it could be something else. There is a lot going on that
we just do not know.

The problem is, and I realize some may think that I am going to take one
more whack at the horse, without definitive research we still do not
know what it is.

Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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