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Mon, 6 Jun 2005 18:17:49 -0600 |
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Will broodless colonies forage for pollen? Not from my observations. I
train my crews to watch for colonies that are NOT collecting
pollen. Almost certain that inspection will show that there is no laying
queen. There may or may not be a queen, but if she's present, she's not
laying.
Granted, I'm sure there's a grace period before bees stop going for pollen
-- and anecdotal evidence says that's after there are no larvae left in the
colony. Similary, the temperature of the brood nest drops off when a queen
stops laying. This is from hard data. If all three stages of brood are
present, the colony will thermoregulate. When the eggs have all hatched,
the temp drops a bit and becomes more variable. No eggs or larvae, temp
swings close to ambient. And if there's no brood (and I'm talking during
the growing season, not winter), the colony more or less stops
thermoregulating.
Back to my belief, honey bees invest the minimum amount of energy needed to
do anything. Why bring in pollen if there's no use for it? On the other
hand, broodless colonies often harvest considerable nectar (hungry Adult
bees will consume it). Eventually, if no queen if provided, the colony
will fall apart.
Jerry
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