>>  If the cell size is
>> bigger then I can see where it might make for more space for varroa.  But
if
>> both the cell size AND the bee size are bigger then where is the extra
>> space?  The larva will still fill the cell.

>I think by now most bee-L readers have realized (maybe for the first
>time)that man did indeed enlarge the cell size of A.melifera over the
>last 100 years. Longer tounge? Bigger is better?

I don't want to sound mean spirited or anti-anything here but the claim of
survival rate using such and such control method has shown up so many times
here that overly-cautious attitutes are not uncommon.

I can see the question as a good on. My first thought would be that the pupa
leaves a percentage of the cell open and with the larger cell size the open
space is greater.

The problem is that swarms that leave a nice man-made hive with its
"incorrect" foundation sizes should be the perfect control for this theory.
Feral colonies should have the edge as they have no foundation to base their
cell size on. But that's not what we see. Feral colonies die out fast in
infested areas. Top bar hives should also show an attraction to low mite
rate.