Please help. :roll:
If I go to foundation less frames what about regressing?
When I loose a swarm and they go to the wild, what about regressing?
Do the bees automatically get smaller or do they know to build regressive cells?
Second point.
If natural cell size has an effect on mites, then that would be helping the wild bees control the mite population. Then they are not developing a way to live with the mites, they have only been doing what they naturally do to live "with out" the mites.
I am going to start my change over colonies on starter strips all the way.
Knowing how social honey bees are I don't think they will have much trouble getting the right size.
The have enough to take sizes from :roll: :)
Natural comb is not forcing your bees on unnatural large cells, but it also means coming to the realization that bees also will not build 4.9 as a standard size, unless you force them too. Forcing them on 4.9 is also unnatural.
I took regressed fully 4.9 bees, and rotated in starter strips. And they did not stay at 4.9. They automatically built cells in a wide range, in the middle of the brood chamber. So it is easy to see that unless you force them onto smallcell, they will not regress themselves down to 4.9.
You can also see this, using a warre hive. You can get bees to fill out at least 4 boxes of new comb, and they will not draw or naturally regress down to 4.9 by themselves.
Natural comb (foundationless) will allow the bees to draw comb based on flow, seasonality, need, and other factors. They may range from 4.9 to 5.5 or larger. In fact, bee in the arnot forest, which is right outside Cornell university, has recorded long term feral colonies in the 5.15 to 5.25 range.
I mention all this because of your use of the term "regressing". For many, this has been a term closely related to the regressing bees down to, and onto, smallcell foundation. But "regressing" bees onto natural comb, is not really regressing at all in many instances. It is allowing the bees to build what they need. Some of that will be smaller, and some of that will be larger. So perhaps translating natural comb via starter strips to "regressing", is not true at all. I know you asked "if" they regress. And that answer is no.
I probably went into detail far beyond your question, and probably elaborated a bit. But I was hoping to expand upon this for others to read.
Hope this helps.
Thanks BjornBee,
I understand this better now, would have to begin with if I'd have gave it some more thought.
Not such a fine line between regressing and letting them do what suits them. Guess I'm just trying to think too hard. :roll: :shock: :)doak
Part of the problem with this is there is a wide variety of experiences and responses of the bees. Some bees will build a range quite small right out of a large cell package. Some will not build anything much smaller until a turn over or two of comb. I've seen them build as small as they probably will (4.7mm in the core of the brood nest with it growing out from there) on the first try. I've also seen some that would only build about 5.2mm on the first try but smaller on the second try. Hence the concept of reression.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm#whatisregression (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm#whatisregression)