Kristine, I'm very interested in this comment you made:

"In late summer we've had samples consisting of over 80% fungal spores."

One year, I had a hive that brought in a large amount of what looked like black dust.  I took a
sample to the microscope and saw that this "dust" was composed of perfectly spherical tiny black
"beads".  If I'd seen this in the lab I would have said they were microbeads, but I could not be
sure what the bees had collected were microbeads....where would they come from?

I asked the Ontario Tech Transfer folks if they knew what this was....gave them a sample....and they
couldn't help me.

I haven't seen that phenomenon since.   The hive that collected the stuff crashed that summer.

Bees do use fungus, I believe, to help ferment their pollen....but why would bees bring 80% fungal
spores of a "pollen sample" home?  Very curious.  How are those hives (or that hive) doing now?

Christina


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