I have corresponded with Dr. Amro Zayed, the senior author on the Tsvetkov paper.  Here is what he said:


"9 colonies x 6 observations (every 2 weeks over 12 wk exposure period) = 54 data points.  Now these are not independent datapoints. We did a repeated-measures style analysis that took into account that we have multiple measurements of the same colonies over time.

If detected early enough, then beekeepers can easily add a queen to a queen-less colony, but that involves a direct cost (buying queen) and an indirect cost (a set back in colony growth rate and population size)."

So indeed, the rate of non-laying queens or queenlessness in exposed colonies was determined from a sample size of 4 (plus 5 controls).  This part of the work falls into the "preliminary data" range and I hope the authors repeat the experiment with many more colonies.  It is disappointing that the reviewers did not catch this, as the journal Science should attract meticulous professionals.

However, their other observations on forager life and hygienic behavior are on sounder footing, with at least 24 colonies per test group.

Christina

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