>
> >So imagine, if you will, if behaviors can be regulated through
> substances introduced into the diet

If one knows which protein in AHB causes defensive behavior, then one could
feed AHB colonies siRNA that "silence" that protein.  Theoretically, if you
fed often enough to silence each new generation of brood, the bees would
remain gentle.

Before anyone jumps all over me, the above is merely a thought experiment,
not a practical suggestion.

Here in Calif we have a tree called Live Oak.  The leaves grow with smooth
edges.  But if a deer eats the leaves off, the stimulus of deer saliva makes
the next batch of leaves grow back with prickly edges.  You can look at the
leaves of a tree and see just how high the deer can reach by looking at the
margins of the leaves.  This is an epigenetic change.

Randy Oliver

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