Dick, there is more info on this in my "Old Bees" articles at my website.
Worker bees which have not taken the diutinus course of development are
essentially immortal until they begin to fly. Then wing wear limits their
remaining lifespan, as does lack of wing muscle maintenance (they
apparently do not repair wing muscle mitochondria). But I also question
that assumption, since they use the wing muscles not only for flight, but
also for heat generation.
--
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com
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