From: "joel acheson" <joeljed@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 03:40:12 -0000
To: BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Strain

>It's your bees try it if you want. Let me know how it works. I will use
>only shake downs this season as the 4.9mm combs and bees are too valuable
>to play around with.

Yeah, I hear that. The problem for the guy starting out is that there is no
4.9 comb already drawn out to shake down on to. It's kinda like you can't
get there from here. So what do I do?

The situation I am looking at is all new packages on all new foundation,
with no reserve of comb or stores to work with. Fortunately there is
sufficient flow and pollen on right now, that part is not a problem.

My concept is to give new frames with 1/4 sheet of 4.9 foundation every
three weeks, as a new cycle of bees is working the comb. I had thought to
add 3 more frames with 1/2 sheet of 4.9 foundation in another 3 weeks with
the next cycle. Then three weeks later three more frames with a full sheet
of 4.9, each time moving the completed combs with their brood up a chamber,
above an excluder. I was hoping that the succesive generations born in the
newer combs would bee somewhat downsized and would do a better job of
drawing out the comb to 4.9 cells. As each graduated step of foundation was
instituted, there would be proportionally a greater number of smaller bees
born, leading in turn to proportionally better small comb development.

Maybe I'm just up in the night with this kind of thinking. Maybe it's not
even thinking, but wishing. Frankly, though, I don't know what else to
try. I figure that the worst that can happen is that I will have a good
supply of frames with fully drawn comb of clean wax that I can use next year
to make foundation from (I have to buy from Dadant right now).

Comments? Suggestions? I'm sure open to them.

Thanx, Joel