> For a normal Langstroth Deep with available frame area of 8 1/8" x16
> 5/8" and 22.7 cells  per sq. inch,

Not to be too picky, but that number seemed odd to me, so I looked it up on
the chart at http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/cellcount.htm

Looking down the 'cells per square inch' column, I see that 22.7 lines up
with a cell diameter of just over 5.7.  Proceding to the next page:
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/misc/cellcountres.htm, and considering your
location, I deduce the odds are good that you are using Thorne foundation.

Unless your bees are huge, your foundation appears to be at the extreme high
end of the range manufactured, and IMO, is suitable for extracting super
comb, but far from optimal for brood purposes for several reasons:

One is theoretical: By going to a more standard 5.3mm or 5.4mm, you would
get about 10% more brood in the same area, and by going to Pierco at 5.25,
almost 20% more.  That 5.25mm size is much closer to the median size of cell
that my worldwide network of observers reported back to me as natural for
apis mellifera on feral comb.  The theoretical advantage is that, on more
normal sized cells, the brood is concentrated in a smaller volume and easier
to cover in cool weather.

The other is empirical:  Adony and I did an experiment where package bees
were installed on bare foundation in early spring in Alberta, and fed.  The
bees on Pierco foundation outperformed those on larger cell foundation
(5.4mm) by a very significant margin.  We did not compare to anything
smaller than 5.25, since we did not have anything of that sort at the time,
(and, for that matter, I am somewhat doubtful about how unselected bees
will, on average, perform on any size smaller than about 5.1mm).

> If the queen was laying at 2000 eggs per day and allowing a 23 day
> brood cycle (21 days + 2 days for cell cleaning), the required cells
> would be 46000, leaving only 15325 cells for pollen and honey
> storage, close to brood , drone brood and the odd bit of damaged
> comb. Perhaps not an over generous surplus of space.
> However a continuous laying average of 2000 eggs per day would be
> considered a bit high for our British conditions, perhaps not for
> Continental climates.

This is an interesting topic.  Seely reported egg laying levels that I
cannot say that I have ever observed in 30+ years.  Other beekeepers have
reported varying levels.  Queens often take a break in egg laying for
various reasons.  As you suggest, a beekeeper needs to know what size of
brood nest suits his or her region.  Although huge populations can be a
worthwhile goal, many beekeepers do very nicely while restricting *brood
rearing* a bit.  There is no scientific proof that restricting *egg laying*
results in swarming, but there is a strong and somewhat supported
understanding that a crowded brood chamber can result in swarms.

At any rate, reducing your cell size to 5.3mm would be like adding an extra
frame into a single brood chamber hive, and going to 5.2mm foundation would
be like adding 2 more frames.

These observations may explain why a standard single was designed to be an
adequate brood chamber for a good queen, but was later found to be a bit
restrictive -- after the size of brood cells was increased by 10 and even
20% from the original 5.1, then 5.2 that Root chose when first introducing
commercially made wax foundation.  (Thanks to Dee for bring these facts to
our attention).

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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