> > Development from the laying of the egg to the emergence of the adult
> worker requires about 21 days, but the period may be slightly shortened in
> hot weather or lengthened if subjected to low temperatures.


The key word here, Pete, is "about."  The 21-day timing which has become
engraved in stone, is actually a median value.  As with many phenomena, the
actual time for development follows some sort of bell curve, although for
worker development, it appears to be skewed towards shorter, rather than
longer, periods.  Few take more than 22 days.

The development time appears to be independent of temperature--a phenomenon
that I observe with queen cells that are held in an incubator.  The shorter
emergence period for some queens appears to be a heritable trait that is
also exhibited by her worker offspring.

This is an important point, as it may lead to breeding programs for
increased varroa resistance--I have been in discussion with various
researchers on this point.

Randy Oliver

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