From: "Dave Cushman" <dave.cushman@lineone.net>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 10:32:02 -0000
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: cell size measurement... JZ/BZ

Hi Dee & all

> modern cell cups are larger and also flared vs the smaller
> straight sided ones

This is not quite correct...
The old cups tend to have a smaller, hemispherically shaped bottom that
flares outwards to a rim of 8.5 mm or 9 mm.

The modern cups are parallel sided, have a more blunt base profile, and have
mouths between 9 mm and 10 mm.

This does mean that there is more room for "flopping" to occur in the modern
cups.

> do you think this could mean more possibility of damage
> to un-emerged queens still in cells in transport?
> Wouldn't there be more possibility of damage from flopping
> around inside of an overly large interior,

Just because there is more room does not mean that such flopping does
occur... the bees may adapt by placing more royal jelly in the space which
would limit the flopping to the same as in the smaller cup.

I would like to see this properly investigated under controlled conditions
with small and large cell bees of various races compared... This is unlikely
to ever happen for financial and political reasons... So until someone
provides proof I will re-adopt queen cup sizings as used, in UK, between
1900 and 1940.

There is another aspect to this... The plastic cups have a harder internal
surface than wax cups so that if any flopping does occur the shock of a
larva hitting the oposite wall will be slightly greater with plastic cups.

I am not saying that plastic cups are bad, far from it, I have used them
successfully thousands of times, but I now think that wax is slightly better
(or more appropriate) and thus, for my remaining beekeeping, I will use wax.

Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman G8MZY