First off, it's small hive beetle.  This Saturday is the 35th anniversary of
the release of Abbey Road, arguably the best albumn ever released by any
group, not just the Beatles.

Anyway, someone wrote:
> ... a cluster of a given size
> of small cells, from what I understand, will produce more
> bees per square inch than bees on larger cells.

This is apples and oranges.  It is true that a smaller cell size will
produce more cells per square inch, that is a given.  The speculation here
is that because there are more cells per square inch it follows that there
will be more bees in a hive of small cell comb than there will be in a hive
of larger cell size.  This is not necessarily so.  I believe Bob's point (at
least that's how I read it) was that simply because there are more cells
available to a queen to lay in, it does not necessarily follow that the
queen will automatically use all of the cells at her disposal to lay more
eggs.  The limiting factor is not the number of cells available, the
limiting factor is the queen.

Before this becomes another cell size donnybrook, think about what is being
said.  Bob stated that the limiting factor in keeping SHB at bay is hive
population.  This is not (or was not) another round of small cell vs. large
cell, it started on a speculation that small cell hives will have an
advantage because there will be more bees raised in a small-celled colony
because there are more cells available for the queen to utilize.  Bob
correctly points out that more cells doesn't necessarily mean more bees.
That's all.  There's no need for the samll cell proponents to get their
hackles up here.

As are many things in keeping bees, a major deciding factor is the queen.

Aaron Morris - thinking before I leap!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::