<<<I have read on this list that the workers will move eggs.
never heard that they would move larvae...>>>
Hello Bee-L Community,
Hunter observed many times that;
'eggs and larvae had been removed in his swarms
from one cell to another.' (Note: Colonies tended to
be called swarms in those days).
This fact recorded in
'Observations on Bees'
By John Hunter - 1792
=====
Early observations have been made
on the moving of eggs also:
In experiments by Thomas Wildman,
(sometime prior to 1768)
Wildman caught up a Queen, and tied her by a thin
thread in order to restrict her movements to a few
inches. He soon discovered eggs had somehow been
deposited in cells impossible for her to reach.
In those days, the economy of a bee colony was still
a great mystery, and Wildman thought this to be
strong evidence against the prevailing belief of a
'one mother bee' or 'one ruler', per colony. But during
the subsequent days, after more carefully observing what
passed in the hive, he observed worker bees carrying
eggs 'from the mother, or Queen Bee', and depositing
them 'for her' in distant cells.
Interesting to note, that Wildman appears by his
statements, to have observed workers accepting
eggs directly from the mother as she laid them.
Wildman perhaps should be regarded as one of the
earliest Organic Beekeepers, or possibly even,
the father of Organic Beekeeping, because
he was one of the first to speak out strongly
against the killing of bees to obtain honey which
was common practice in those days. And wrote
against the harming, killing or injuring of the queen
bee, which 'some 250 years later, are rules
universally accepted as fundamental practice in
Organic Beekeeping.
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/
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