> > By "eating," do you mean digesting?  Foragers lack the proteolytic
> enzymes to digest pollen grains; they are rapidly shunted through their
> midguts to the hind gut.
>
> Foraging is the end point for summer bees. Winter bees, on the other hand:
>

What about the situation of a swarm?    There are presumably few nurse bees
and mostly older bees.  There are no stores of fermented beebread as in the
paper discussing winter bees and their ability to digest pollen.  Yet the
bees are able to start brood rearing quickly.   Is the lack of proteolytic
enzymes reversible or is it not really a lack but just a reduction and if
fed sufficient amounts of pollen are older bees able to produce sufficient
royal jelly during swarming season to raise brood?  Or am I wrong and do a
number of nurse bees take off with the swarm?

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