Hi I. G.

>OK, so I read all the stuff -- but there you present quite a different picture:
>

>Like I said, you aren't stating that small cells are the only thing in your
>management plan.
>
If you have read all the stuff, how can you say I present a different
picture? Maybe you read it too fast to really understand it.
I'm the first to admit my writing is harder to read than I would like.

I'm not a writer, just a beekeeper. If I were a good writer, I could
spend all this keyboard time writing a book and making a little money
rather than doing this for free:>)

Cell size/broodnest structure is the key component for varroa mite
tolerance. And with mite tolerance, pesticides aren't needed inside the
hive. That combination allows bees to overwinter much better, build up
faster in the spring. It allows me to requeen every three years rather
than every year. And my bees can do more than survive. They can thrive
without much intervention from me.

The fact that I come to a different conclusion concerning the how's and
why's of small cell doesn't negate any part of the if's.

And yes, I do more than just one thing in my management plan. If the
bees are hungry I feed them. If they need more room I super them. I
requeen colonies with failing queens. I split hives that want to swarm
if I need additonal hives. I prepare them for winter by reducing
entrances and moving colonies from exposed locations(there are sustained
70+mph winds here in the winter). Yep, my management sure encompasses
more than just one thing. I hope yours does also.

Now I have some questions. How many hives do you loose during the
winter? How much of your bee equipment would remain empty without
purchasing  packages and queens?

How does your production compare with the average production for your area?

What would happen to your hive count if you left your bees unattended
for a year? For two years? For six years?

Does your management include checkmite? If so, have you tried to rear
queens in those checkmite treated hives? How are your supercedure
rates?  And if so, what will you do when you get checkmite resistant mites?

Would you be ashamed if your customers knew what was put in your hives?
How about the state bee inspector?

Would you let your children eat your mite treatment? What about your
customers?

If you have kept bees for awhile, how would you summarize your
experience? Is it getting better with healthier bees, more production
and easier management. Or has it been heading in another direction?

These, of course, are rhetorical questions. I expect no answers. But I
hope every beekeeper would ask these kinds of questions of themselves.

And if you don't like the answers you get. Then get up and do something
about it. There are options available today that weren't available 20
years ago. And some of these options just might take your beekeeping in
the other direction. It did for me.

That's why I share what I have experienced. So that, if anyone is
interested, they can take advantage of my success as well as my failures.

It's hard to believe, that in a few months, it will be seven years of
hands on experience with small cell for me! And I know of a small cell
hive of bees that has been continuosly occupied and has thrived without
any  management, intervention or treatment of any kind for 6 1/2 of
those years.

And I wouldn't go back to those good old large cell days for anything.

I've written about this experience for most of those years. And that
info is freely available on web. And it's in the archives on the major
lists. To me, it's sounds like I'm playing the same old tune, on the
same old drum again, when I repeat these kinds of posts for the
umpteenth time. And if it sounds that way to me, I can only image what
it must sound like to you guys :>)))

I'm only a beekeeper and not a debater, or philosopher. And I get all
the argument time I need from my teenage sons.

So, I've decided not to address these kinds of small cell issues
anymore. But I will contribute if I experience anything that would add
to the previous discussions.

Best Regards And Have a Great Holiday
Dennis

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