Adrian, >As for the sanity reference, I don't think most beekeepers had a >great deal in the first place. :-> Great reply, Adrian! I have watched beekeepers encounter insurmountable obstacles for several decades (e.g., DDT, parathion, mites), but I have never seen all of them "throw in the towel." Opening a colony during a honey flow is a special experience (but don't keep it open too long). I had a beekeeper visitor a few months ago from Kenya who wanted to see how we handled our colonies. I told her that was find and that we should meet at one on Wednesday. She asked, "In the daytime?" We drove to the bee yard and parked nearby. She asked, "Are you going to leave the car windows open?" We walked the short distance to the hives and then asked, "Are you going to open hives in short sleeves?" I opened several colonies and explained how we operate colonies. In one case I could show her the queen backing up and laying an egg in a cell. Her comment: "No wonder you people in this country spend so much time studying bees -- in our country we can only approach colonies at night!" the other Adrian *************************************************************** * Adrian Wenner E-Mail [log in to unmask] * * Department of Biology Office Phone (805) 893-2838 * * University of California Lab Phone (805) 893-2838 * * Santa Barbara, CA 93106 FAX (805) 893-4724 * ***************************************************************