Embracing Nature's Path - Insights into Small Cell Beekeeping
Hey Bee Lovers! ✨ So, I dove into the world of natural comb observations and did some historical digging, especially around the claim of artificially enlarged bees in small cell beekeeping.
And guess what? The evidence didn’t quite stack up.
- Natural comb? It’s a mix of different cell sizes, not a uniform one.
- Bees? They switch up their sizes with the seasons, naturally.
- Broodnest structure? It already has the right-sized cells in the right spots for the colony’s optimal function.
- Foundation cell sizes today? They fall in line with historical natural comb measurements.
With no artificially enlarged bees in the mix, why go through the hassle, expense, and stress of regressing them? Bees aren’t the easiest to work against; they’ll put up a fight all the way.
Let’s keep it simple and go natural, shall we?
- Get the bees in clean equipment.
- Top bar hives are great for transitioning to natural comb.
- Opt for foundationless frames.
- Or throw in four small cell frames in the center of each brood box.
Understanding the structure and seasonal dynamics of a natural nest makes working with the bees a breeze instead of a battle.
Here’s what I’ve discovered.
Large or Small Comb?
Natural comb is like a mixtape of cell sizes. Bees craft various sizes for different purposes – raising workers, drones, queens, and storing food. When given the choice, bees raised on a single cell size draw out a variety of sizes.
No memory lane for cell sizes here!
Large or Small Bees?
Even if restricted to a single cell size, a colony raises different-sized worker bees in different seasons. A natural hive is a mix of worker bee sizes, including those adventurous virgin queens.
Mongrel bees on natural comb give you a worker population diverse in size and genetics – the ultimate recipe for survival.
A hive needs small cell-sized bees and comb to thrive. But it also needs large cell-sized bees and comb. Otherwise, we wouldn’t find so much large cell-sized worker comb or queens favoring it in the summer.
Historical Cell Measurements
A.I. Root’s cell size measurements predate foundation production. Today’s worker cell sizes fit neatly within the natural comb cell sizes from that era. Bees draw out the same range of cell sizes, whether they’ve been on natural comb, regressed, or raised on small or large cell comb.
Regression, Anyone?
With:
- no cell size memory,
- no commonly used artificially enlarged foundation,
- no large or small cell bees in particular,
Regression becomes unnecessary.
Without regression, there’s no need to lose most of your bees to save them. The usual sacrifice of 75% to 90% of colonies during regression was seen as a step to select a better-adapted small cell survivor to replace the large cell bees.
And without regression, say goodbye to:
- isolated mating zones,
- out-of-season mating,
- full boxes of perfectly drawn-out small cell-sized comb,
- and the quest for feral sources for small cell survivors.
Think about it – what other small cell practices could be simplified or dropped? Imagine how much easier running small cell hives could be! ✨
-Bee Well, D 🐝🤠
