Jerry J Bromenshenk wrote:

> ones that I have been getting are plastic and from Europe.  Norm Gary used
> to provide the metal ones - might warrant an enquiry.
>
> >If we are using Pierco plastic frames, could we just glue some iron onto a
> >queen
> >and use a metal detector?
> >allen

Alumin(i)um would give a sharp, clear tone, and should be easy to pick up with
a White Goldmaster, etc., and would be lightweight. Almost nothing is worse to
a gold- or coin-hunter than a bunch of decayed foil gum wrappers in the soil.
- I read that back in the early atomic age, little foil packets of radioactive
salts were considered as queen beacons - findem with a geiger counter - I
suppose that was before cellular damage was realized as a hazard.
  - put the simplest and lightest part on the queen and carry the electronics
yourself.
  - the trick is getting a metal-free hive - I have even considered that a
stationary metal detector which you could pass single combs over would speed up
queen finding considerably. Then you could ignore the hive-body nails and
cleats.  Garrett and White both make lightweight self-contained wand units for
fairly low prices - the kind they wave at you if you fail the airport
walk-through.
John F. Edwards
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
Tucson, Arizona 85719
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/home/edwards/edwards.html