Charlie noted one problem with the test, but the most obvious was the bees health difference between different locations. Of all the variables, that is key. Any results are suspect if you start with a mixed bag of healthy to Varroa and nosema infested bees. That is the most important variable to control. It is obvious it was not.



Thanks Bill,  I was afraid I wasn't getting thru!.....

The one thing that keeps popping up to me as Crystal clear,  is that most people Researchers and all, are completely unable or unwilling to understand the natural variation in hives and hive growth due to outside/unknown factors.
It seems  that even here,  most seem to think a hive is a hive and if you have 5 hives they should and will all grow and thrive the same.  While that does work for a lot of plants and livestock,  beekeeping has always to date been much different.  So much research I see is based on the assumption that all hives respond the same, it makes me wonder how they came to this though process.

I wonder if it has to do with the hobbyist level of most beeks or researchers? (no disparagement intended)  But any serious beekeeper spends a lot of time equalizing or address the issue,  trying to bring them all up equally. But how often do you see bee yards that all the hives look the same?  Winter configuration they all look alike on the outside,  but open them and the variation is huge. Forage crops, queen genetics, virus loads, and weather are such huge factors in hive growth.   Were that not true,  all hives would swarm the same day or week, it would end "swarm season"

Add in Death from Varro and Nosema during the test,  or being allowed to swarm as in the other one,  "unknown contaminations"  and such a tiny amount of differential in the hives and I wonder how an intellectual person can even begin to reach the conclusions I have seen written this week alone.



Charles

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