Smaller bees

[oldgreyone]

Just came in from sitting by my 3 KTBHs watching the bees come in with their loads of pollen. It is neat to watch the differant color pollens on their legs. I noticed difference in the size of the bees. The old Italians which were used to provide the Carney Queen with initial stock are distictly bigger than some of the darker Carney offspring. This I attribute to their having hatched from natural comb that the Italians built on the top bars. There seems to be a range of sizes, from almost as big as the Italians to the smallest which appear to be about 2mm shorter and up to 1mm or 2mm narrower. All of the differant sizes seem to be bringing in pollen so I assume none of these are robbers from other hives. I don't know of anyone else for miles around who have bees and the farrow hives seem to have all died out.

[Michael Bush]

On natrual cell you'll see a large variety of sizes. Isn't it cool! I wonder if the diversity they supply is an advantage in other ways that just smaller cells helping with varroa.

[oldgreyone]

That gives us almost unlimited areas to observe and research on the contributions and detractions each size variation present in the hive. It is enough to make your head spin just thinking of the possibilities. And this should be only the first level of regression for this group of bees. The number of possibilities staggers the imagination.

[jim b]

I'm using foundationless frames and i too am seeing lots of sizes. I was sittin up on my high horse all hotsy-totsy in my new bee suit feeling bullet-proof when one got in and showed me where my ear is. Is this more likely to continue on an increasing frequency, or was it a fluke? Just wondering.
jim

[oldgreyone]

Mine are so gentle, I rarely wear a veil or gloves, so I don't have a similar experience. However, I would think that if your bees are a bit more agressive that the smaller ones would find it easier to use smaller openings. Prudence would call for taking extra care to make sure you are well sealed. Take care and have fun.

[Scot Mc Pherson]

Its not so much the size of the opening as how well the opening is hidden. There is no such thing as a sting proof suit unless you wear NASA approved bee suits.

How to move and work is the best defense against stings, protection tends to make most beekeepers more clumsy and therefore more prone to getting stung than those that don't (in general circumstances).