<Shaking brood probably can cause damage without question>
Years ago, I was working with a scientist at the Hanford site in WA and
conducted a study at the Rocky MT Arsenal near Denver. We planned a brood
survival test, where a patch of brood (eggs/early larvae) is marked and
recorded (age stage in each of 120 cells).
The plan was to mark the brood of colonies set near waste sites, look for
acute toxicity due to exposure.
The Hanford guy was going on vacation, so instead of driving the colonies
to Denver, setting them out, and marking the brood - he marked and scored
the brood cells at Hanford, then loaded the colonies, hauled them to Rocky
MT, set the hives out, went on vacation. On his return, he inspected and
scored the brood mortality (the brood test marks eggs and early brood, then
two weeks later, scores cells by age of brood in each cell). Initial Age +
14 days = Total Age (which is readily discernible from the eye and body
color of the pupae). One does not want to wait too long, or the Total Age will
exceed 21-22 days.
SO, the trial was a failure. The controls (colonies out of forage range
of the waste site) lost as many cells of brood as the treatments (colonies
near the waste site). ALL colonies, controls and treatments were marked
before transport on a pickup truck (it was a small trial). Obviously the
shaking and banging and maybe heat stress (although they were moved at night
and the scientist was an experienced beekeeper with ~ 500 colonies for
several decade, so he was careful with the colonies). Yet, the TRIP was the
important factor in brood loss.
Based on this, I've always wanted to do the same for bees on semi trailers
traveling across the country. Best test would be bees from two warm states
so brood could be checked at both ends without undue stress - say CA/FL.
Randy?
Jerry
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