> quite sure I follow what your saying about the randomly and no obvious
> difference?

Fifteen hives given traps randomly scattered around the site of 40 hives.
No I didn't use a random number generator.  I did not weigh the supers as
they came off.  Simply that there was no visual difference in the
performance of the hives, or indeed the nucs.  Full of brood, full of bees,
full of honey.

> Do you suspect your soil is rough enough on larva to
> lower the successful pupation rate??

As I have said I/we do not see any evidence of larvae in a properly
functioning hive.  Those that slime out from a hive problem should be
reasonably rare. The test site referred to above is on sandy loam, and my
hives these days spend all or half their time on horticultural country doing
pollination.  

There does seem to be a reduction in hives sliming out.  No idea why, other
than perhaps a reduction in source beetle numbers to move in.  There are
anecdotal reports of "where have the bees gone, none in my garden these
days".  Certainly on my bushland home numbers must be well down.  Before
beetle if I had honey accidentally exposed I soon knew about it, even at the
house some distance away, from all the bees around.  Even if I had no
managed bees here at the time.  Now I will only notice if I walk past
closely and see a few bees.       

>  They do!,  I have done two log cutouts this summer and pupating larval
> stages in the detritus in both! One I found 4 in,  the other only 2.

I am inspired!

Geoff Manning

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