Hi Guys, >I'll tell you what. Those of us who have umpteen gadzillion dollars locked up in the large cell foundation and equipment are going to be mighty indignant if we have to change to the smaller cell size to beat the varroa.... That's true for sure. My friend, a large scale commercial beekeeper in hix 60's, asked for some advice. He has thousands of migratory hives and tens of thousands of deep supers filled with large cell broodcomb. And all of that comb has been exposed to mite treatments for over a decade. His hive surround mine and have been devastated by mite two times in the past. Yards with forty hives were left with a couple of very weak survivors. Now it's happening again inspite of the multiple treatments being used. What kind of advice could I give him? Well, I shared how important the clean broodnest is. How much better hives overwinter, build up in the spring and are more productive. I shared how small cell allows me to keep my broodnests clean. I suggested he use a mite treatment, like oxalic, that doesn't contaiminate the broodnest and would control the mites. And then see if it provides the kind of mite solution he needs. And that he should start a few small cell test hives. At some point, when his other hives are stable again, he will have enough experience to evaluate whether it's worth the cost of converting to small cell, or a clean large cell broodnest, or just using something like oxalic and maintaining his course. I'll bet a beekeeper is more terrified/depressed than indignant when his hive count go from thousands to hundreds because of the mites. I've met some of them in California who lost their entire outfits because, after spraying, fuming, dipping, etc. everything to control the mites, they still lost all their hives. They are now truck drives, etc. and not working bees at all. I expected my commercial friend to grab onto the oxalic and push the clean broodnest options into the future. Treating is just so easy. But he is interested in a long term solution, as he has been let down by the pesticide treadmill three times now. And he enthusiastically, wants to start a small cell test. Regards Dennis -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---