<<<I have read on this list that the workers will move eggs. never heard that they would move larvae...>>> Hello Bee-L Community, Hunter observed many times that; 'eggs and larvae had been removed in his swarms from one cell to another.' (Note: Colonies tended to be called swarms in those days). This fact recorded in 'Observations on Bees' By John Hunter - 1792 ===== Early observations have been made on the moving of eggs also: In experiments by Thomas Wildman, (sometime prior to 1768) Wildman caught up a Queen, and tied her by a thin thread in order to restrict her movements to a few inches. He soon discovered eggs had somehow been deposited in cells impossible for her to reach. In those days, the economy of a bee colony was still a great mystery, and Wildman thought this to be strong evidence against the prevailing belief of a 'one mother bee' or 'one ruler', per colony. But during the subsequent days, after more carefully observing what passed in the hive, he observed worker bees carrying eggs 'from the mother, or Queen Bee', and depositing them 'for her' in distant cells. Interesting to note, that Wildman appears by his statements, to have observed workers accepting eggs directly from the mother as she laid them. Wildman perhaps should be regarded as one of the earliest Organic Beekeepers, or possibly even, the father of Organic Beekeeping, because he was one of the first to speak out strongly against the killing of bees to obtain honey which was common practice in those days. And wrote against the harming, killing or injuring of the queen bee, which 'some 250 years later, are rules universally accepted as fundamental practice in Organic Beekeeping. Best Wishes, Joe Waggle http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/ *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm