Hi Kevin & all

> In a local bee class, a veteran (recently infamous) Kentucky beekeeper
> made a statement that I question

We would all do well to question beekeeper's opinions, statements and 'known
truths' more thoroughly than we do.

> It is his opinion that a mated queen subjected to cold
> temperatures will have permanent damage done to her
> ovaries resulting in infertility

Now the point here is that it is an 'opinion'... What I would like to know
is how he came by that opinion, what did he observe that made him think that
damage was occuring?

There are many things in beekeeping that are not understood as well as they
might be...

Long term repeated statements do become embedded in what we think we know,
but it does not make such statements 'correct' because they are widely
known.

As far as queen damage due to chilling is concerned, I can honestly say that
I have not considered it myself, has anyone seen any relevent evidence that
suggests that we conduct experiments along this line and find out for
certain?


Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman, G8MZY
Beekeeping and Bee Breeding Website
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman