Background
It's been nine years since I embarked on my small cell experience. And I have a little more to share.
In 2007, I moved from Wyoming to Florida. It wasn't practical to take my hives there. So, in 2006, I started reconfiguring them as a two deep hives. It's the conventional configuration here. Then, I ran them for a season, much like I did before learning to work with the bees. You can read about it at the bottom of my Checker Boarding page.
In early spring, 2007, I gave all my hives to a commercial beekeeper friend. He promised to take care of them and check out the effects of small cell comb for himself.
Situation
The seven small cell hives were used to replace the occasional dead outs found on his migratory four way pallets. They were essentially randomly placed in a conventional, large cell, treated, commercial 12 pallet beeyard. A top bar hive was put in the corner of the same yard.
The small cell hives are a more olive color and in double deeps.
The large cell hives are in a deep and a medium.
The top bar hive is hidden behind the two pallets at the lower right.
Pallets with any small cell hives were left in the beeyard. The remaining pallets were shipped to California for almond pollination. Additional pallets were shuffled in and out as needed.
All small cell hives were left untreated in all regards. But were managed identical to their treated large cell counterparts.
The small cell hives were in a unique situation. They were removed from any advanced beekeeping techniques. Any factors due to isolation and location were eliminated. And survival/production could be directly compared to treated, large cell hives.
Conditions
Their first season was the worst ever seen in this yard. None of the hives made any surplus and all went into the winter very light with minimal pollen reserves.
The second season was much better than the first. The bees made slightly less than an average crop. But it was better than the majority of beeyards in the area, which again stored just a few frames more honey than what's needed to survive. Beeyards farther east, were in much worse condition. They didn't make any honey and will need lots of corn syrup just to get to the almonds. The last two seasons have been a couple of the worst in memory.
Status
I've returned from Florida to Wyoming. and reclaimed those small cell hives. Here's what I found after two seasons:
- All the small cell hives survived and thrived except for one, which had a queen failure. Another small cell hive was split into it to make up the difference.
- The top bar hive queen failed. I wasn't surprised as she was over three years old.
- Small cell hive honey production was as good as any hives in the yard.
- No visible mites, evidence of brood disease, or symptoms of PMS were seen in the small cell hives.
That wasn't the case with the surrounding large cell hives. Mites, apparently showing resistance to treatments, were visible. My commercial beekeeper friend's operation was overwhelmed with mites. He was applying mite treatments to all his hives at every inspection. Symptoms of PMS were seen in a few hives. Most of his hives were prosperous with both bees and mites.
An outbreak of Terra resistant foulbrood was also rampant in the commercial operation. All the large cell hives were treated with Tylosin to contain the outbreak.
The large cell hives have experienced queen supersedure problems. Many of the hives required requeening.
Indications
I've already shown small cell yards can tolerate mites, when mite infested large cell yards are in the area. But is was doubted, even by small cell beekeepers, that small cell hives could survive in the conditions I've described.
While knocking down this yard for migration and winter, initial observations indicate small cell hives can handle the mite loads imposed on them when immersed in a commercial yard infested with mite infected hives, and run in a conventional manner.
And those small cell bees are prospering and producing, without treatment, in a situation where the large cell hives require almost continuous treatment to survive and do the same.
A Closer Inspection
A week after knocking down the yard, I've returned for a closer inspection and a detailed looked at those small cell hives. Broodnests were opened and closely inspected. I searched for mite fecal deposits, disease, or anything unusual in the brood comb. Nothing unusual was found. No phoretic mites were seen either.
I also closely inspected the failed tbh comb as well. The queen failed, as previously stated. No fecal deposits were found in the tbh comb.
Results
Once, when I was a slave of the scientific method, I would have put screened bottom boards on those hives and embarked on another mite counting project. But that's not my situation now. I've been looking at these hives for several hours and they're doing fine, even when surrounded by mite infested, large cell hives. And they survived when managed in a conventional manner in a commercial setting.
It's a beautiful Indian summer day. The mountains, with their glorious fall colors are just moments away. And I've got better things to do than 'prove' something to someone else or to worry about mites.
Fading light finds me here. It's a much better place than worrying about mites.
So, I'm out of this beeyard. I'll pick up my favorite woman. Soak up some solitude, silence and beauty in the distance heights. We'll putt down a single lane, dirt track in my Jeep. Find a warm spot out of the wind. And enjoy the last few moments left before the snow settles in.
My small cell bees are fine, even when surrounded by large cell, mite infested hives and when run by a conventional beekeeper.
