Jim, it seems to me that you have set up a catch 22 situation when you say 
that it is impossible to isolate a colony of bees from its accompanying 
micro flora and fauna on the one hand and then say that bees can “thrive in 
a "sterile" environment, where all microorganisms are deliberately hunted 
down and killed on a regular and consistent basis” on the other hand.  
Furthermore, I’m not sure I see the difference between claiming that at 
least some microorganisms are beneficial if not vital to the health of 
honeybees without providing any scientific peer reviewed data in support of 
that argument, and claiming that no such organisms are beneficial without 
providing any supporting scientific data on that side of the argument.  
Actually I would tend to agree that such experimental evidence supporting 
either argument would be damn near impossible to come by for the reasons 
you mention; no way to construct a vacuum in which bees could live.  So 
it’s kind of like proving or disproving the existence of God isn’t it.

Steve Noble    

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