I have nagging doubts and reservations about what "regression" really
entails.

Contrary to what someone on this list said recently about bees "growing"
after emerging from the cell, unlike vertebrates, insects don't "grow"
once they are adults.  They also have the ability to vary the adult size
based on the available resources.  This is common in most if not all
insects.

When I am "playing" with SHB I see individuals, raised on short rations,
that are apparently "functional" but are also 50-75% the size of their
"normal" relatives.  This is not to say they are as prolific but they are
apparently capable of producing offspring none the less.  When the
opportunity recurs, I'll have to test that assumption.

What portion of "regression" is genetic and what role does environment,
i.e. cell size, play?  Is anyone aware of any actual research?  Mention
has been made of moving bees "down", then back "up", and then back "down"
on different size foundation, was any sampling, i.e. measurements, done?
 Was their size compared to non-regressed bees in the same locale and
under the same management system?   It occurs to me that, if "fully
regressed" bees were placed on commercial foundation and there was a
genetic component,regarding size, to the difference between these
"regressed" bees and the bees out of commercially produced queens, there
should be a statistically significant difference in size.  It may not be
great but none the less there should be some difference.

No one seems to talk about drone cell size when they are throwing out
cell measurements, has this been tracked?  Is there a consistent
relationship?  In other words, if you graph the data from various size
"races", not mention "regressed bees, do you get two parallel lines or do
they have different slopes?

In a similar vein, the size of viable queen cells can vary all over the
place during a single event and within a single hive.  Someone must have
analyzed the relationship of cell size to the size of the queen produced
by the cell but I can't recall a reference off the top of my head.  Most
of the improvement, genetic and environmental, in queens, aside from
colour, etc., as I recall, has been aimed at increased ovariole counts.

Any of these questions might serve as the basis for a "backyard" research
proposal and would not require "high tech" equiptment or "deep pockets".

Rip

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