If I Go Foundationless...

[DayValleyDahlias]

If I add foundationless frames in the Spring...will the bees make small cells?

[pdmattox]

I think it will be natural cell size. Others with more experince in this area will chime in soon. :)

[Michael Bush]

Assuming you're starting with bees from 5.4mm comb, likely it will be in the range of 4.9mm to 5.2mm.  Mostly it will probably be 5.1mm.

[DayValleyDahlias]

S, if I buy a package of bees in the Spring, along with a new Queenie...and I place them in a hive with HSC...and add supers with foundationless, will they still make a bigger cell?  And if I keep only adding either only HSC or frames with starter strips..will the cells be small enough to keep mites under control?

[Robo]

S, if I buy a package of bees in the Spring, along with a new Queenie...and I place them in a hive with HSC...and add supers with foundationless, will they still make a bigger cell?

With HSC,  any new bees that are raised will be small cell bees.  If you wait a few brood cycles for the large cell bees to die off and replaced by the small cell than you will have all small cell.   If you add foundationless frames, they will build different sized combs depending on their need (natural sized comb) including small cell that the larger bees would not.  If you give them foundationless frames while there is still the large cell (package) bees, than you would get regression sized comb similar to if you didn't use HSC.

And if I keep only adding either only HSC or frames with starter strips..will the cells be small enough to keep mites under control?

That's the claim.   I have not found a mite in any of my HSC hives,  but the first year is always light and mite loads peak in the Fall,  so I can't be certain of the true results yet.   Furthermore,  the mite load on my other hives (non-HSC) are extremely low too because of the oxalic acid vaporization last Nov.   So although the results look good,  it's too early to tell for sure.

[DayValleyDahlias]

Thanks Robo...mites suck :-x