>
>  my reading of the various "bee bread" recipes i've seen, is that they
> inoculate the pollen/honey mixture with a specific LAB...much like if one
> were to brew beer


 Thanks, Dean.  I should have been more specific, since I had just finished
another correspondence suggesting that that researcher make their bee bread
with an inoculum of natural bee bread from a comb.  However, Gilliam's
research indicates that the inoculum is added by the bees in their
corbicula, and that the fermentation process starts before the pollen even
gets back to the colony.

i've  read the research that you cited, thanks.  You may wish to look at
more recent research by Dr Jay Evans which demonstrates the great
differences in microflora from colony to colony, and location to location.
That would raise the question as to which inoculum to use.

It's likely that more metagenomic and proteomic screening will find a common
denominator of microbes for fermentation.  Of course, there will be certain
discerning beekeepers who will turn their noses up at such generically
fermented bee bread, and wax poetic about the terroir of their secret local
inoculum.

Randy Oliver

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