Peter de Bruyn Kops said:

> I find it difficult to explain the quick response
> (increased brood rearing) when natural pollen 
> collection starts in the spring.  

Brood rearing is a pheromone-trigged event, so the 
mere smell of fresh nectar and fresh pollen,
regardless of the level of overwintered stores 
available, is what starts serious egg laying and
brood rearing.  I don't see any problem with the
lag while pollen and nectar "ferments into bee bread" 
or whatever, as eggs have 3 days from being laid
to hatching into a hungry little larvae.


As for the essay "No Bee Is An Island", I'd like to 
point out that the statement "No Bee Is An Island" 
also implies that "No Beehive Lives In A Vacuum".  :)

I'll explain my reasoning below:

Lets assume for a moment that the impact of formic 
acid on combs and pollen stored in those combs is just
as absolute as irradiation  - the hive is "sterile", 
and nothing at all is left alive, zero beneficial 
organisms survive.

Even though this case would be a massive exaggeration, 
the hive still exists in the real world, and outside
bacteria are going to come in on every bee, every load 
of pollen, ever drop of nectar, every breeze that wafts 
through the entrance.

Anyone who has made mead, beer, or wine at home 
knows just how hard it is to kill off all the bacteria
in anything, and keep the yeast you add the only
yeast in the mix.  It is an almost impossible task.
What happens in most cases, is that the yeast you
add is certainly the most common yeast in the mix,
but is not the only one by a long shot.

So, how long can a beehive remain "sterile"?  That
depends upon how many times per hour the air in
the hive is exchanged with fresh air from the outside,
and the number of sorties per minute.

But it isn't going to be long at all.

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