The Cell Size Discussion

Sometimes I see a great post on a social networking site and I want to reply but then the reply begins to take the form of a post.  That's not fair to the original poster, but I still want to help provide what information I am trying to share.

That happened again when reading a post about small cell foundation.

When it comes to organic practices, many people consider foundation-less top bars or frames to be the best choice as it allows the bees to decide what size cells to build and where to place the different sizes they build.

When it comes to beekeeping in general, the greatest compromise we ask the bees to make is to draw straight, parallel combs instead of the curvy, free form combs they would normally build on their own.  This eases our ability to inspect and harvest those combs.

Warre went to great lengths to point out how important those curvy, free form combs are in a bees nest to preserving an environment that is resistant to diseases and pests.  He insisted that through his observations, instances of foulbrood and other pest /disease problems increased in hives that kept the nest "open" using straight, parallel combs instead of "closed" allowing the curvy, free form natural design of bees.

Since Dee Lusby began talking about using small cell foundation in hives, people have begun considering that approach more as well. Michael Bush expands on that discussion as well.

Generally speaking, Foundation manufacturers increased cell sizes to get bigger bees and more honey per cell (5.4 mm).  Bigger bees, they presumed, are healthier and capable of bringing in more nectar and pollen.

There are studies which have shown though, that smaller cells in worker brood areas help keep mite populations low or absent as the mites need a certain amount of space.  They will almost always tend to look for the biggest cells which are also usually the drone cells.

On pre-fab foundation, for the most part, all cells imprinted are darn near the size of drone cells, thus giving mites more cells to choose from.

If a beekeeper wants to use foundation in their beekeeping plan, many who are concerned about the mite issue have followed Dee Lusby and others by putting small cell (4.9 mm) foundation in.  As Mike Bush notes, natural cell sizes in any given comb range from about 4.6 mm to about 5.1 mm on average.  Given that, the small cell foundation seems to fit right in to the natural size range.  However, again, these are all the cells imprinted on the sheet with no variation as a natural comb would have.

It has been noted by several people that bees raised on large cell foundation have a difficulty regressing back to small cells and that it will take ea few generations to get back to that point.  The beekeeper may need to help the process by removing large cells that the bees might draw on their own while adapting.

Waree's hive and horizontal top bar hives have that (removing combs from the hive) built in as part of their regular management.  Conventional beekeepers might consider adding that step as well instead of continuing to use the same combs over and over.  At least until the bees have regressed to the smaller cell sizes.

For the most part,  I think that small cell foundation is like a half-step measure made in an "Bee Wise" beekeeping plan for beekeepers who have decided that foundation will play a part in their beekeeping.  It seems to be an organic practice that works toward mite prevention and minimizing the pest presence.