This should be right down Deanno's alley.  Unfortunately it is still excessively general, anecdotal,  speculative, and undefinitive. 

I keep waiting for anything that reconciles what we see empirically in the real world with what theoretisists come up with in controlled settings.  It would be nice to see something remotely scientific on this topic, and there have been noises for some time.  Smoke, but no fire.  Have they published anything? 

Colony Health 

Dr. Diana Sammataro began her presentation listing some of the manners in which honey bees and honey bee colonies are protected against disease-causing mic- robes. These include living in a hive lined with the antibiotic propolis, having an impervious exoskeleton, moderating temper- ature (such as running a fever to reduce growth of Nosema), stimulating production of antibiotics in infected cells, stimulating blood cells to engulf and eliminate invading microbes, while serving as a host to a number of microbes essential to the health of the bees. 

We still believe that honey bees have a sterile intestinal tract before they emerge from the cells as adults. By exchanging food and eating stores that have been manipulated by previous bees, they become inoculated with bacteria (and fungi?) essential for their existence. Diana referred to this con- cept as the bees having a “social stomach.” 

Researchers at the USDA Tucson honey bee lab have devoted significant time and energy trying to isolate and determine what microbes are necessary for honey bee health. It turns out that the Lactobacillus species are some of the most important, as they are to mammals. In honey bees they are important in digesting pollen and releasing essential nutrients. One of the species of Lactobacillus apparently has been found in every species of honey bee analyzed. It appears to be the same species that kills fungi in wine production. Twelve other Lactobacillus species have been identified in the honey stomach contents (nectar). Combined, these bacteria are going to be marketed as a honey bee probiotic. These bacteria release protective antibiotics, enzymes and fatty acids, and break down starches, proteins and carbohydrates, etc. 

Feeding studies, somewhat similar to those of Gordy Wardell and conducted over extended periods of time, determined that without inoculated pollens to consume, only the queen would continue to function somewhat normally. Eggs were being laid but no bees were feeding the larvae. Adding a bit of previously stored bee bread led to restoration of brood rearing. Preliminary studies determined that antibiotics, high fructose corn syrup and old honey appeared to vastly reduce the number of microbes in laboratory cultures. Different sugars had varying effects on microbial make up. The next step is to try to determine how much impact oxytetracycline, tylosin, and fuma- gillin have on honey bee intestinal microbes. A follow up study will determine if the intestinal flora can be re-established using the probiotic. 

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm