> I too am too inexperienced to judge the validity of the sale theory
> but to further muddy the waters, I offer this tidbit:
>
> According to Richard Bonney's "Beekeeping: A Practical Guide", pg51,
> "Both the deficiencies or the presence of certain minerals can be
> detrimental. For instance, salt reduces longevity."
 
> I don't suppose Richard Bonney would happen to be on this list?
 
In retrospect, I might have said it better in the book. Not simply that
salt reduces longevity but, too much salt reduces longevity, and better
yet, not just salt , but mineral salts.
 
The latest edition of "The Hive and the Honey Bee' has a chapter on
Nutrition in which it summarizes some of the relatively small amount of
knowledge on minerals in the bees' diet and gives a number of citations
of past studies.
 
Dick Bonney
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