> I've never seen any suggestion this had anything to do with genetics
That's why I suggested that asking might be worthwhile.
Its been years since this claim has been offered, and I'm
tired of biting my tongue and waiting for someone else to
suggest it.
> if you spend a year or two getting bees on SC comb you clearly
> haven't changed their genetics you've changed their environment
I agree completely with the statement above.
> what's your point?
I'll be even more clear, but I fear you won't like it one bit.
The point is that the entire "shorter capping time" explanation for
how small cell "works" is based upon a misunderstanding, one that
does not stand up to even a cursory examination of the genetic
basis for gestational development time, which goes all the way
down to each organism's cellular level.
> last year my bees in my observation hive appeared to this novice
> to have a shorter post-capping time
If you track the time with hourly photos (a webcam and some of
the shareware/freeware programs for "security camera" applications
will do this with ease) between egg laying and emergence for
a decent number of cells, you will find that the data describes
exactly what one would expect - a bell curve, with some cells
taking less time, some more, but most within the timeframe
listed in the textbooks. There have always been bees that
emerge "earlier" and "later", and the distribution of time is
"normal", meaning within the usual bell curve limits, which is
why they call it a "normal distribution".
Now, one could claim that a smaller bee simply needs less cells
than a larger one, but one must recall that undernourished bees
are also smaller than they might otherwise have been, yet they
don't tend to fall on the "shorter time" end of the distribution of
development times simply because they are smaller bees.
Yes, AHB do have a shorter worker development time, and it is
a genetic difference, one that shows the millions of years that
honeybees have had to diverge into distinct races of bees.
To claim that a smaller comb cell size could have effects that
have impact on the cellular development that drives the whole
process of bee development (egg-larvae-pupae-bee) is to defy
most of biology in one sweeping statement. To not know about
or have forgotten the cellular basis for the growth of living
things (the growth of a cell, the splitting of cells into two, the
time required for such growth, and so on) is perhaps understandable,
but becomes more and more annoying in direct relation to the
shrillness and volume level with which the claims are made in
support of the contention.
If one sees an overall shorter development time in one's bees, does
this indicate that one has bees with AHB genetics? Its not my place
to say, as the answer could be viewed as an accusation, but this is
yet another question that should be asked to someone whose
credentials are impeccable, and has actually studied the issue.
So don't debate me - go ask a biology major who works in
the field of science or education. They are not hard to find.