> That is a very different from question 2 -"Do young bees need to consume
pollen in order for their fat bodies and hence wax glands to develop?". All
the books say that is true. But that development occurs BEFORE they become
wax-makers.

Exactly my point, John!  Any experiments done with newly emerged bees that
are starved for protein have little to do with real life.
Once a bee reaches mid-age, when they typically begin producing wax, their
wax glands are fully developed, and they have a protein reserve in their
fat bodies.  The wax drawing experiment would need to be done with these
bees.

Actually, those of us who use mini nucs perform this experiment all the
time.  We put a spam can full of mixed-age workers into a polystyrene box
without any pollen, but with plenty of syrup.  They produce wax and draw
comb immediately in fhe  complete absence of pollen.  That said, I do not
know for how long they can maintain wax production without pollen, but
mid-aged wax producers may be at the stage of their lives where they are no
longer consuming pollen.

Let me see whether I can run such an experiment...

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

             ***********************************************
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