Mite Wars II

There is really nothing like natural selection when it comes to solving problems. I just read a post from Bush Farms about using smaller sized comb to combat the varroa destructor and tracheal mites. His solution is to use smaller cell frames. This is an easily tested hypothesis that I’m going to pay close attention to. The idea is that smaller cells prevent the mites from getting out of hand in the hive. Sounds logical but we are going to have to use Karl Popper to prove if this is the case. Bush also has a great site with lots of other information about beekeeping. I would love to see a paper proving the hypothesis. If it is the case that smaller cells are the answer then we can abandon the whole chemical arms race. That would be good for the environment and good for us.

Bush also offers some excellent advice to beginning beekeepers. Obviously he is a master beekeeper. I know that he posts a lot on beemaster.com and he can be contacted at bees@bushfarms.com.