For Waldemar:
Yet in the natural this is not natural IMPOV for you are
talking whole frames of drone cells to work with, and I do
not see this as happening in the feral cutouts I have done
for years.

What I do see is drone cells on the periferies, and anymore
very little transitional cells. I do see uniform whole
slabs of worker combs,  and little amounts of large cells
drawn. This matches the ratios written about pre-1900,
and/or written in the late 1800s when drone cells were said
to be in ratio of about 10-15% to the higher ratio of
worker. And at that time only two distinct sizings of cells
in a feral hive were noted. But saying this, we have been
regressing now for several years in our area and helping
other local beekeepers to do so also.


But back to scenting whole frames of drone comb for
attractant for mites and then pulling. This to me IMPOV
disrupts the natural mating of colonies in the field, and
somehow it seems that any disruption would in the long-run
be bad for the bees for they would not be able to
superceed, and mate naturally at certain times.For this
would have bearing of the number of drones available in the
drone pool if overdone.

With small cell and working the bees back up and culling to
retrain the bees back to the old written ratios of pre-1900
(of only 10-15% drone cells) which they seem to take to
quite easily, really, you end up with more drones early and
later, and better all around field breeding, which then
allows you to have opportinity to select for traits you
need to go forward and rebuild you colonies back.

I just cannot see killing drones when it doesn't have to
happen, and besides they work very hard to keep the mites
and secondary diseases in check throughout the active year
when left to do their jobs naturally with small cell
ratios. Somehow making imbalance to me by sacrificing them
does not make sense with whole sheets of drone cells
destroyed this way and on top of that scented. Sorry....

Respectfully Submitted,


Dee A. Lusby,
Small Cell Commercial Beekeeper
Tucson, Arizona
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrganicBeekeepers







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