Greetings, This is the first time I have "sounded off" on the BEE-L. I have enjoyed the discussions in this group for almost a week. I keep Buckfast bees exclusively. I enjoy their gentleness and attractive appearance. They are good producers in Maryland. However, keeping only one type of bee limits my ability to experiment. I have three things of interest to share, and one compound question about AHB. 1) I placed two Drone cell embossed foundations in a deep which was filled with eight Duragilt foundations. The Drone foundation was against the walls, the eight Duragilt in the center. The bees drew out the Drone cells before drawing out the Duragilt? This behavior seems atypical since bees prefer to start in the center. I also read (I believe in the new "Hive and the Honeybee") that bees don't like to draw out Drone foundation. Note: I keep my hives fairly clean of burr comb and the drone population is fairly insignificant except in one hive where the queen crossed honey and laid in the test drone sheets (I had "thousands" of drones before I figured out what she had done). 2) I placed two Drone cell embossed foundations in a Ross Round box. The rest was filled with very thin white foundation, worker cell size. The bees drew out the Drone rounds before the worker size foundation. Without regard to placement. 3) The Drone cell sized comb looked better than the standard cell size. People asked me if I was growing "Super Bees" to get such large honey comb. I think this could be a very marketable way of displaying honeycomb. I think that the unique appeal of Drone comb to the bee and the consumer should be looked at further. Further observation (although probably unrelated): The colony where the queen crossed the honey to lay has a verroa mite infestation. Question: Are the Weaver Apiaries in TX (where the Buckfasts are sold) at danger of spreading queens carrying the AHB strain? Will my Buckfast queens breed true if I flood the area with Drones from my Buckfast hives? What is the easiest/best way to raise queens? Many thanks in advance for your advice/help. :-B ______________________________________________"_"_'_""_'_____________ Russell Doyen voice (410) 573-7325 [log in to unmask] Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute (IITRI) Interests: Programming, Beekeeping, SCUBA Diving, Cooking, Hunting, Lurking on the Internet, Cartoon Collecting, Sailing, Married. OOo O <^_^^^_^> _ /| O oO H /"\_^^_/"\ <(o) (o)> \`o_O' o O \/ o o \/ ( " ) """ ( ) _____ o N | q | \ ~ / -(o o)- U (_/-\_).. E \ ++ / \___/ --oo--(_)--oo-- Ack! ===(O). Y [[><]] Opinions expressed are mine (I think) and don't reflect views of my employer. [All the usual disclaimers apply] _____________________________________________________________________