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Date: | Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:40:40 -0500 |
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Hello All,
>
> This agrees with my source, for an average. They put the minimum
> average per bee at 103 mg. They state that 5000 would be based on a
> bee with an empty honey sac, such as a departing forager.
Most package bee producers figure around 3500 bees to the pound as all I
know use smoke in the process. For two very good reasons. Bees are being
sold by weight and the package producer wants bees gorged with syrup for
transportation and bees gorged with honey are easier to handle.
Bees gorged with syrup/honey ( as in swarm) can easily survive for several
days without syrup *unless the weather is cold and the bees need to generate
heat.* .
The big truth is most smoked bees and have gorged on honey use little syrup
sent along with the bees. In a recent packager arrival from California one
could pour around 20 gallons of syrup from the cans into a 55 gallon drum
from around 100 packages on arrival. Usually the only empty cans come from a
can with holes too large and the syrup has run out. Some always arrive with
completely full cans in which the holes too small for the bees and these
usually arrive in great shape.
Package producers which store filled packages in storage (up to two weeks at
rare times and usually in a cold artificial environment) depend on syrup
containers for the bees survival. In those cases up to half the syrup will
be gone which in my opinion is a giveaway that said package bees have been
in the package for a time period. Certainly over 3 days or not smoked when
caged.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
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