Bob and all,
	As you have stated, colony strength is key to controlling SHB.
The other key factor in controlling SHB is the old fashioned method of
pest management which simply explained is, "Don't leave empty, untended
combs on your colonies". That means don't over super, and it means if
the bees aren't actively patrolling a comb in numbers, than it is not
being patrolled. Beetle larvae are easily dispatched by the bees, but
only if there are enough bees to cover the whole colony, and that means
enough to peek in and check every cell regularly.

SHB is one good reason for adopting a foundationless system that
prevents the bees from being given too much foundation or comb and not
having enough bees to patrol it. They only build what is needed. When
you harvest the honey, you cut away the comb and let them rebuild it
without foundation. They will attach it to exactly the same spots as
used before similarly but more effective than using foundation strips.

Does this effect production? Sure, but when you compare side by side the
costs of increased wax production vs. lost production, entirely lost
harvests and lost colonies from beetles, and include the costs of
pesticides (and their effects) if that is your thing (and its NOT my
thing at all thank you very much) I think you can see the savings quite
readily.

Going foundationless seems hard at first, but once you have a mature
colony, installing foundationless frames is as easy as inserting one
between two well drawn and capped frames. Once the frames have been
used, cutting the honey out is all that is needed to start over. They
will fill the frame just as they did before because they have a "starter
strip" that runs around the whole frame. Plus the system inherently
includes wax replacement which is a recommended practice anyway for
healthy beekeeping.

--
Scot McPherson
The McPherson Family Honey Farms
Davenport, Iowa USA

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