>As I mentioned, I do not just had evidence, I have graphed my bell curves of queen "useful lifespan"
> It would appear that Dave Tarpy, who was just quoted, also agrees with me:
> "Thus, we do not currently have evidence as to why the perception among beekeepers is that overall queen quality has diminished in recent years.

As I read through this, my impression is that "we do not currently have evidence." He doesn't have it, and you claim to have it but do not present it. Furthermore, Dave refers to "the perception among beekeepers." This is not evidence, it is an unsupported observation, based upon who knows what. As I said, reports of diminished queen quality, supersedure, etc are not a new thing.

Furthermore, beekeeping experts have known for a century that a colony with a new queen (less than one year old) greatly outperforms one with an old queen, all other things being equal. An experienced beekeeper from Canada told me this January, that it matters less what kind of queen you have than it does how old. He said ensuring first year queens in the hives was about the most beneficial thing you can do.

PLB

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