. I even heard of a beekeeper who actually
> goes round all his colonies in spring and pulls a leg or two off the old
> queen. She generally continues to lay whilst a successor is raised, and
> thus requeening is achieved relatively seamlessly. I've never tried it
> but it sounds plausible enough.
>
 > Murray
> --
> Murray McGregor



        In his excellent article on queen clipping/marking  the above
paragraph made me wince. I pictured Murray arriving at the Pearly Gates to
find God was a queen bee. " Murray McGregor, aren't you the one who told all
those Bee-L'rs about ripping off queens legs?".

        I know honeybees are wired differently than humans and do not feel
pain in the same way. And I realize when you are trying to make a living at
beekeeping some bee blood must be spilled. However, ripping the legs off
queens strikes me as unnecessary cruelty.

Ted