We have gone far "afield" in this discussion.  :)

Regardless of Joe's arguments, placements of hives for mere
days, rather than weeks or months, is a clear indication of
purposeful hive placements for a specific bloom rather than 
mere "seasonal movement" from "high to low ground".

Joe quoted Eva Crane:

> Up until the late 1800's and early 1900's the movement 
> of hives by beekeepers could be more accurately defined 
> as 'transhumance beekeeping'; vertical seasonal bee hive 
> movement, typically to higher pastures in summer and to 
> lower valleys in winter, or movement to extend the honey 
> producing season or to new sources of forage.

Well, I've been to Egypt many times, and there's not a whole 
lot of "elevation" to be had there.  The highest point in the 
whole country is like 2,500 feet above sea level, which delays 
spring by a week or so versus the valley areas, not that 
anything much is gonna grow at elevation in Egypt.

There is a North/South component to seasons, as Egypt is
about 700 miles long in a north/south direction, which 
buys you about a month in terms of bloom delay due to latitude,
hence the whole "bees on a barge" scheme I mentioned as perhaps
the smoothest ride bees could ever get.

Joe confused the use of burning and flooding between crops and 
wildflowers or weeds.  Not surprising, as he's never farmed or 
trucked bees around.

If one wants a field to lie fallow, one wants to burn BEFORE
the weed plants go to seed, so as to not have those weeds in 
next year's crop.  So, very quickly after bloom, one wants
to burn the fallow field, and keeping it flooded for a while
after that would also tend to kill any later-sprouting weeds.
If your burn before or during bloom, some plants will re-bloom.

So, migratory beekeeping in 300BC is well-documented by the
papers cited, and anyone who knows even a little farming and
migratory beekeeping can see that the evidence provided is
unambiguous and clear.

I admit that traveling in the 3rd world helps one to be more
familiar with the whole "burn and flood" tactic, but one 
need go no further than Central Florida to see it in practice 
in the cane fields.  Go west from Ft. Lauderdale on State Road 
84 past the Weston development, and take Route 27 North to Belle 
Glade, and you'll see for yourself.  The smoke from the burns 
made the road a death trap for drivers back in the 1970s and 80s.

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