# Reading about cell size



## GBov (May 4, 2008)

And I am rather confused (so what else is new?) so thought I would ask you guys.

Some people (The backward bee keeper in this case) say its important for the bees to make their own cells because they make a smaller cell which makes a smaller bee which makes them healthier and more resistant to veroa mites but all the frames we bought last year came pre-stamped with a lovely hex pattern.

True or myth?

And if its true, can I simply paint over the stamped plastic frame with a nice layer of wax adn cover it all up? 

The new bees are on order to replace the hive that gathered up their honey and buggered off and I really want them to do well.


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

I did an experiment this last year. My girls refuse to draw out the plastic frames! So I took some old wood frames and waxed/glued in a 2" piece of a cut up plastic frame in the top. Wanted to see if they'd complete drawing it out and what they'd do with it. Each and every one of them had drawn out the upper part according to the plastic format but drew out the rest in DRONE comb! Might be why I didn't have enough bees in those boxes! I don't know if it was the time of year that I put them in there or just what the blue blazes was going on. I'll knock it out and put the frames back in there to see if they draw out just drone comb again. I don't know for sure what size bee is the best to reduce the mite issues, but drone is not the right answer. Of course your girls might do something quite differently.


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

If you do some online searches for "small cell" and "natural cell", you'll find all kinds of contradictory information, from anecdotal evidence to university research studies. There are beekeepers who swear by it, beekeepers who swear at it.

In the end, I don't believe it's of great importance. You can have strong, healthy colonies regardless of cell size. It's more important to do regular inspections; monitor mite loads; practice IPM techniques and follow good beekeeping practices. 

To answer your other question, no - giving plastic frames a coating of wax will not affect the cell size they draw out. In fact, beekeepers often do just that in order to get the bees to draw out comb on plastic foundation since they are often reluctant to do so.


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## Cascade Failure (Jan 30, 2007)

indypartridge said:


> If you do some online searches for "small cell" and "natural cell", you'll find all kinds of contradictory information, from anecdotal evidence to university research studies. There are beekeepers who swear by it, beekeepers who swear at it.


Yup, many opinions.

One such is from Michael Bush at http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

I don't know if he's right or not, but I like his overall beekeeping philosophy. And he was very willing to answer some very stupid questions from a newbee. I think his site would be worth a visit during your decision making process.


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## goodatit (May 1, 2013)

to cascade failure: checked out Bush Farms. lot of good information.


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