Bill think on the feeding process considering metamorfosis and things get
more interesting.

Pollen availability / emerged bees by cast and age / larva by age



If the trigger to longer lived bees is the end of pollen coming into the
hive, it could be as simple as reduced pollen in the diet or as complex as
a change in the nurse bees that causes them to modify the ratio of enzymes
they add the worker's diet to be closer to but not quite the same as the
queen's diet.

Love to find out what is actually causing it, so welcome comments and
corrections.


Do nurse bees produce royal jelly (or for the sake of argument latter on
wax scales) by "colony will" or by age?

If by age and pollen come back after the trigger or there are enough pollen
silaged in the frames (or good paties ontop of framés) , then there will be
excess royal jelly for the newly emerged "Will be long lived" bees.

Could that be?

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