Hi PO,

Thanks for the report. 

I suspect that different bees draw out different minimum cell size. Do you
run a variety of the dark northern bee? It could be very different than the
more southern type bees we run in the US.   

Do you still run a tbh? If so, do you see the decrease in cell size down the
length of the comb? What are the minimum cell sizes seen in the natural
brood comb?

I think the proper fit between the seasonal change in bee size and brood
rearing in the appropriate cell size is more important than an absolute cell
size.

I also suspect that some problems result when forcing bees to an arbitrary
size. That's one of the differences between natural cell and small cell
beekeeping.

Eric Osterlund, in Sweden, has experienced success with a traditional small
cell approach. He's one of the propagators of the Elgon bee and an editor of
the Bitidningen. The bees he uses might be different than yours, as he
traveled with Brother Adam and incorporated several different races into the
Elgon.

Regards
Dennis

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