>the factor I suspect contributes most to the health of feral colonies is
that they are not disturbed.

Thanks for the post D.  Could you please tell us what area you are in?

You bring up a testable hypothesis--that it is the lack of disturbance that
contributes to colony survival.  The best way to test would be with a
control trial of disturbed vs undisturbed colonies.

I personally don't see that, with my test group being those occasional
colonies that I accidentally leave undisturbed yards that I move out of for
the season.  How about others on the list--do you have any observations
that either support or invalidate the hypothesis that lack of disturbance
increases colony survivability?

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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