At 09:19 AM 4/17/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Is there a definitive bee book that every beginner should have?  The books
>that I got from the library are fine, but it is not easy to get answers to
>questions that I have.
 
The Hive and The Honey Bee - If I could have one book that covers most
topics, right to the sophisticated stuff, I would choose this book.
 
>For example, I see references to light and dark comb, yet none of the three
>books that I have mentions the cause or purpose of the different color
>combs...
 
Comb gets dark because of the byproducts of larval development (old cocoons
and fecal defications) accumulate in the cell after a number of rounds of
brood rearing.  Incidentally, wax moths do not gain their nutritian from the
wax but rather by eating these byproducts of development that remain in the
cell.
 
Cheers,
Adony
***********************************
** Adony P. Melathopoulos *********
*** Center for Pest Management ****
**** Simon Fraser University ******
***** Burnaby, British Columbia ***
****** Canada, V5A-1S6 ************
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"The pursuit of agriculture promotes the strength of the mind
 as well as the body"
         - Rev. John L. Blake, 1853