>
>
> > I recall hearing several presenters at EAS 2003 pointing out the
> population cycle of tropical honey bees is different from those in
> temperate latitudes. The tropical curve is more gradual with brood being
> raised throughout the year.


Ditto for subtropical.  Dr. Eric Mussen pointed this out to me many years
ago.  He had moved from bee research in the upper Midwest to California.
He noted that colonies in California never grow as large as those further
north.

I have spent countless hours trying to figure out why that is.  I've
analyzed absolute daylength, daylength change, temperature, and wind speed,
but none appear to account for the difference.  I suspect that it may
simply be a function of more abundant forage.  The nagging question is that
the act of foraging quickly wears the foragers out, thus reducing their
longevity, so I haven't yet worked that out.


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

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