Hi,
The VERY GOOD departed beekeepers who very deliberately increased the
cellsize surely used that as a breeding tool? Wasn't it a selection
technique? No-one was concerned about 'bloated weak slow' bees a few years
ago...honey yields were better. Couldn't the smaller cell
be 'selecting' for those same traits others are breeding intensively for?

And of course the million dollar question will be yield again.

I will be very quiet and listen carefully if more learned posters discuss
Lamark, my grapplings with Mendel have been postponed for awhile. Is it
correct that genes, and hence traits are not destroyed...but merely in the
background awaiting the correct pressures (cellsize???) to resurface? Surely
then the environment can be a pressure, particularly the 'womb'size ?

Barry Sergeant asked about my interest in breeding a gentle scut. In fact my
opinion is the opposite, that in general the colonies I deal with in England
seem pretty similar once enraged to the colonies I robbed in Zululand as a
child and observed closely on the Highveld not far from Kyalami as a
wannakeepbees adult. Some days are better than others, and if you're going
to open the box, best dress protectively.

John Sewell

" In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities" Suzuki.