Hi Trevor and All You menioned that the TM resistance in bacterial strains in cows cannot cross to strains in bees. This may be incorrect. Bacteria have an ability to perform so called lateral gene shifts - genes are transferred without actual sexual contact. The way they do this is to pick up chunks of environmental DNA they may find (usually small pieces that have one or two genes on them termed plasmids) which are then kept for a little while. If they do something good, the bacteria lives a bit longer and has more offspring. If they do something bad, it goes into hard times and chews up all excess DNA and gets rid of the bad extra piece. It amy also die ( a bit like succumbing to an irritation heartattack for picking up a computer on the side of the road loaded with Win3.0 and WP5.1 and trying to use it??) So it is feasible for DNA from bacillus species, or any other similar bacteria that evolve a TM resistance gene to be transported back to a beehive in water which had a cowpat in it. This is how many of the worlds pennicillen (sp?) resistant strains of all sorts of bacteria have evolved. Farmers in feedlots in some countries feed this antibiotic to cows to increase among other things milk production (the antibiotic kills of non-beneficial bacteria in the cows gut that were turning good food into bad gas, but leaves the good ones that help break down cellulose and so on). People drink the milk which has some bacteria in it which are resistant. If they are on antibiotics at the time, the strain which is being treated may pick up the resistant plasmid and bang goes another treatment. So hence I would predict that in a few years resistance will arrive. But that is not a problem - a new technique has just been internationally patented which dramatically increases the rate at which industry's can improve their production strains - which should mean world antibiotic prices will tumble. Hence one will be able to use a three treatment punch - should prohibit too much resistance. (at hopefully the same cost) Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc)