New Beekeeper to be. Question regarding Bee Weaver bees and cell size

[Barry]

I'll add to Roland's list when I get my new(old) John Vandervort mill in hand. I think it's around 5.0, 1888.

[beeweaver]

Hi, I had a beekeeper email and ask me what we size foundation we have our bees on and ask that I let the BeeSource group know. We use regular size foundation in our hives. The only change in foundation we made over the years was to give plastic foundation a try... which was a mistake. We quickly went back to getting our foundation pressed out of our own beeswax via Dadant or Kelley. Hope this helps! best, Laura

[Oldtimer]

Oh that's interesting, so it's normal size, treatment free comb foundation?

[beeweaver]

Right... one of Danny's theories about wax and chemicals is that it soaks up the chemicals overtime so we don't buy foundation made from other beekeeper's wax. We want our own back. Until we all go chemical free!

[Barry]

"Normal size" meaning 5.4 mm?

[beeweaver]

The standard size, can't say that I know the exact size but I know it is not small cell. Our foundation is the same we were using when I first started in the bees ~ 20 year... and that that was the same they had used for decades. I also don't see a difference in size from their burr comb comb and the foundation comb... so it must be natural!

[Steven Ogborn]

Yay! Laura, Thank You for getting in on this.

[beeweaver]

You're welcome, thank you for the opportunity. Spring is on its way, I hope everyone has a wonderful season with their bees.