> Their work was excellent, but none of their conclusions would apply to areas in which there was not a strong fall pollen flow.

Well, frankly, I am not concerned about those areas. Here, we have a very heavy fall nectar and pollen flow, and yet many colonies do not live all winter. They do not starve. It appears that the bees get old and die. Hence, my interest in winter bees. 

But following Heather's work, she seems to be saying that it's the conditions in the spring that set the stage for the production of long lived bees in fall, not the abundance of fall pollen. 

Besides which, there may be an epigenetic switch which causes the bees to go into long lived mode, possibly cued by the reduction in brood pheromones. 

Granted, winter bees store vitellogenin, but it may be because they are "expecting" to live a long time whereas foragers are not. Swarming and absconding bees may stock up on it, too. 

PLB

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