Steve said:

> ... catch 22 situation... impossible to isolate a 
> colony of bees from its accompanying micro flora 
> and fauna 

This is "impossible" in nature, and in production 
beekeeping, but it would not be difficult at all in 
a "lab environment", even a low-budget one.

> [You] say that bees can "thrive in a 'sterile' environment, 
> where all microorganisms are deliberately hunted down and 
> killed on a regular and consistent basis"

Yes, this would be the essence of the test one could
do to verify that "sterilization" of combs and hives 
do not have long term impact on bee health, and that
outside "microflora and microfauna" are not 
mission-critical to colony survival/health.

If the colony died out, the flora and fauna would be
mission-critical.

> experimental evidence supporting either argument would be 
> damn near impossible to come by for the reasons you mention; 
> no way to construct a vacuum in which bees could live. 

I don't see it as difficult at all to construct a sterile
environment in which to keep a tiny colony of a hundred 
bees or so and a queen.  Do you see a major hurdles?
If so, what would they be?

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************