Chris:
In areas where apiaries are in line and I control the area
more or less, with no other beekeepers, like 15 miles
plus...the bees drawout uniform across whole frames side to
side and top to bottom.
In areas where other beekeepers are present, depending upon
what they are using comb wise,bee wise, there is variance
with smallest size in core of broodnest, and largest to
perimeters and top area.
In those yards I am constantly interfacing with fresh
dumped swarms from baskets from Tucson and GreenValley
municipal areas and having to regress, the difference is
really like you are seeing and due to mixture of whatever
stock is currently in those areas and constantly being
brought in by hobbyist beekeepers/sideline and commercial,
and makes for much headaches.These are basically staging
yards to me. But go a season and I can even most of this
out by shifting out swarm ketching frames I start the bees
with, cutting out own comb and mounting. Once switched over
to drawnout frames from other colonies I get by extracting,
that are more uniform in size, the probem then stops
considerably, as queens are shifted. Then I move the
colonies to other yards after weeding out ones I don't
like, while changing out the swarm ketching frame combs not
good sizing wise. When I move then the bees to other yards,
I keep in mind what I am moving, so that the better go to
the yard lines I have full control of, and the lesser go to
the ones I interface with, with other beekeepers.
Basically you won't get uniformity of sizing until bees
uniform pretty much in coloration which is also signal they
are acclimitized majority for your immediate area.
Regards to you
Dee
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