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Date: | Mon, 14 May 2012 12:19:09 -0600 |
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I should have included this link:
http://www.dheaf.plus.com/warrebeekeeping/cell_size_measurements.htm
--- begin excerpt ---
Comb worker cell size measurements
Introduction
The suggestion that bees raised on comb with cells smaller than
determined by conventional foundation may be better able to cope with
Varroa1 has attracted the interest of apiculturists and apiologists
alike. However, a number of experiments reported in peer-reviewed
journals have failed to demonstrate any overall advantage of small cell
comb based either on small cell (4.9 mm) foundation or made of
plastic.2-7 A criticism made of these studies is that they are too
short-term, the longest lasting being 13 months,4 whereas anecdotal
evidence accumulated over two decades suggests that a combination of
withdrawal of acaricides, natural selection and small cell comb needs to
be applied for several years before a Varroa resistant population of
bees is established.
An alternative approach has been to let bees build natural comb and
develop their own preferred cell size range. In a study lasting three
years, natural comb was compared with comb based on 5.3 mm cell size
foundation regarding the survival, Varroa mite drop and productivity of
the respective colonies.8 Perhaps surprisingly, the worker cell size of
the natural comb colonies was larger (5.4 mm) than that of the
foundation comb colonies (5.3 mm). No decrease in natural cell size was
observed over the three years of the study...."
--- end quote ---
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