I have nagging doubts and reservations about what "regression" really entails. Contrary to what someone on this list said recently about bees "growing" after emerging from the cell, unlike vertebrates, insects don't "grow" once they are adults. They also have the ability to vary the adult size based on the available resources. This is common in most if not all insects. When I am "playing" with SHB I see individuals, raised on short rations, that are apparently "functional" but are also 50-75% the size of their "normal" relatives. This is not to say they are as prolific but they are apparently capable of producing offspring none the less. When the opportunity recurs, I'll have to test that assumption. What portion of "regression" is genetic and what role does environment, i.e. cell size, play? Is anyone aware of any actual research? Mention has been made of moving bees "down", then back "up", and then back "down" on different size foundation, was any sampling, i.e. measurements, done? Was their size compared to non-regressed bees in the same locale and under the same management system? It occurs to me that, if "fully regressed" bees were placed on commercial foundation and there was a genetic component,regarding size, to the difference between these "regressed" bees and the bees out of commercially produced queens, there should be a statistically significant difference in size. It may not be great but none the less there should be some difference. No one seems to talk about drone cell size when they are throwing out cell measurements, has this been tracked? Is there a consistent relationship? In other words, if you graph the data from various size "races", not mention "regressed bees, do you get two parallel lines or do they have different slopes? In a similar vein, the size of viable queen cells can vary all over the place during a single event and within a single hive. Someone must have analyzed the relationship of cell size to the size of the queen produced by the cell but I can't recall a reference off the top of my head. Most of the improvement, genetic and environmental, in queens, aside from colour, etc., as I recall, has been aimed at increased ovariole counts. Any of these questions might serve as the basis for a "backyard" research proposal and would not require "high tech" equiptment or "deep pockets". Rip -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---