Mike S wrote:  
<snip> Longevity, for the most part, is limited by the wear and tear of wing membranes. </snip>
 
I believe I heard a lecture asserting that it was wear and tear on the wing muscles more than the wing membranes that determine longevity.  The two links below assert that it has to do specifically with oxygen processing in the muscle.  If so, the antioxidant properties of Resveratrol would make the longevity claim plausible, though still unproven.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080925072432.htm
http://www.springerlink.com/content/q774375663q2g0t0/

However, given that the Resveratrol effect mimics caloric restriction, I can't help wondering if it would even apply to honey bees since they have more influencers on their  nutritional activities than most other animals.  
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18414825
 
It will be interesting to see what the research finds about the specific pathways.  As a practical matter, though, I could easily see something like this backfiring.  To oversimplify, Resveratrol works by keeping adults "younger" longer.  Assuming that it works for honey bees, that would be fine when you have a strong flow on and need every bee you can get.  Reducing attrition means more bees in the field.  But when the drought hits and when autumn rolls around, the colony kind of needs those older bees to die off.  Otherwise, they'll be sitting around the hive eating up all the stores.  The colony has evolved elaborate feedback mechanisms that control colony population.  Introduction of Resveratrol would likely disrupt those controls.  It would be ironic if a chemical that works by mimicing caloric restriction were to lead to actual starvation of the colony.
 
Mike Rossander


      

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