" Our results show that antibiotic treatment can have persistent
effects on both the size and composition of the honeybee gut microbiome.
Antibiotic expo-
sure resulted in decreased survivorship, both in the hive and in laboratory
experiments in
which bees were exposed to opportunistic bacterial pathogens. Together,
these results sug-
gest that dysbiosis resulting from antibiotic exposure affects bee health,
in part due to
increased susceptibility to ubiquitous opportunistic pathogens. "

Raymann K, Shaffer Z, Moran NA (2017)
Antibiotic exposure perturbs the gut microbiota
and elevates mortality in honeybees. PLoS Biol
15(3): e2001861. doi:10.1371/journal.
pbio.2001861

Charlie's comment raises a question--the efficacy of any antibiotic or
pesticide, if applied regularly, tends to be lost as the pathogen or pest
evolves resistance.  Have you seen any studies that tracked the amount of
benefit to feeding livestock species an antibiotic over the course of many
years?  Did the beneficial effect continue to be as great?

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

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