> One need not offer scientific proof to the 
> contrary to refute flawed reasoning.

Agreed, but when something labeled as "study results" ARE offered, they
should be more than a cryptic and vague handwaving reference to a
yet-to-be-published study that no one can read for themselves without making
a request and (likely) agreeing to NDA/embargo terms.  This sort of
"refutation" crosses the line between legit critique and overt bullying.

> Dean and others began with the assumption that chemicals 
> like formic acid or tetracycline must negatively impact the 
> microflora and thereby cause all sorts of other disorders.

I agree that substantial leaps of reasoning are inherent in the above, but
my point is that no one is enlightened or convinced by a metric like
"overall colony build-up", which contains its own inherent leaps of
reasoning.

I submit that the leaps of reasoning required are of equally Olympic height
and distance for both, hence my intervention.

So, to summarize:

1)  Do things like antibiotics impact gut microflora?  Yes, by design!
2)  Do things like Formic Acid impact gut microflora?  Very likely so!
3)  Does this present a problem for bee colonies?  Dunno, likely not a big
or unrecoverable one.
4)  But can we test this?  Yes, but I submit it can only be accomplished in
nice sanitary petri dishes, not in bee colonies.
5)  Then, only after we see the effect on specific bacteria, we are going to
have to sacrifice and sample the guts of caged bees every x hours to see the
recovery rate of the microflora due to feeding of a "normal diet" after the
impact of the antibiotics, formic, or thymol.  

Oh yeah, thymol.  Similar mechanism as formic.   Betcha it kills off MORE
microflora than formic does.

As a side note, I cannot participate in blood drives, as my blood tests out
to be about 50% bee venom and 50% single-malt whiskey.
Not sure what impact this would have on my internal microflora, but it is
certain to take care of any parasitic microfauna!  :)

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