>during a conversation, I was told that bees that I will get are “larger” bees due to the fact that they are products of large cell comb. These larger bees will build cells of the size they have come from,…large cells, due to the size of their own bodies.
Sort of. They will tend to build larger cells than they would have if they were smaller bees. However they will build smaller cells than they would have if they had large cell foundation. So what you will most likely get is something between large cell and natural cell size.
>Can someone clue me in on this phenomenon?
http://bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm#whatisregression>Must I “start” my new bees on small cell foundation and wait for several generations of bees to become smaller?
Generations of bees will make little difference. Turnovers of comb (which requires you to remove the larger comb) is what will get them smaller over time. Comb tends to stay for a long time and the minuscule amount that cells shrink from cocoon buildup is not going to make them smaller any time soon.
> Should the first two or three boxes be loaded with small cell foundation?
Even WITH small cell foundation, they will likely not draw small cell. In my experience the PF100s (deeps) and PF120s (mediums) from Mann Lake get drawn 4.95mm every time. But the 4.9mm wax foundation will likely get drawn 5.1mm or so even if it's 4.9mm foundation. It's your choice what you want to use. Another option is Honey Super Cell (
www.honeysupercell.com )
> When can I go foundationless and get small cells?
Anytime you'll get smaller cells.
http://bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm#howtogetsmall
Topic: Foundationless Big/Small Cells (Read 1469 times)