With regard to a comparison between Alberta and Finland, Alan said "I see, by the globe, however that even the southernmost portions of Finland are north of Alberta, and even north of Canada's northernmost (AFAIK) beekeeping." Yep, most of Scandinavia is well north of what we would consider inhabitable by all but Native Americans. Some is north of Hudson's Bay! The Gulf Stream, carrying the warm Caribbean water to Europe's East Coast is responsible for Europe's mild climate at latitudes we would expect to be almost-tundra. Lloyd Lloyd Spear, Owner of Ross Rounds, manufacturer of comb honey equipment for beekeepers and Sundance pollen traps. http://www.rossrounds.com [log in to unmask] *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** ***** BEE-L Archives contain almost two decades of beekeepers advising beekeepers ***** ***** Although there are no format Frequently asked questions, any topic of discussion ***** ***** can be reviewed by searching the archives. The archives is the FAQ! Subscribers ***** ***** are encouraged to become proficient in using the archives which can be searched at: *** ***** http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?S1=bee-l ***** *********************************************************************** ***********************************************************************