Dean, I'm not suggesting that gut microflora are unimportant. Indeed, I'm definitely of the opinion that they are! Re Dr. Johnsons' study, I was simply passing on the results of an experiment. The results surprised me, but since i'm not trying to make any sort of case, I am happy to share any and all results. > This study needs to be done in a country where antibiotics have not been so heavily used. As in the antibiotic-free European countries in which all the beekeepers loudly complain about their colonies exhibiting decreased vitality? >"no difference in build-up" is a far too gestalt and vague a metric to be able to detect many serious hits a beehive can take. His metrics are actually more refined. To this beekeeper, the rate of colony buildup reflects the final calculus of all factors involved. -- Randy Oliver Grass Valley, CA www.ScientificBeekeeping.com *********************************************** 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