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>>It's surprising to me that your queens shut down when there's a pollen flow
>>on and decent flight weather.
>In Australia, Trevor showed me colonies in full brood production on the
>winter solstice, which really makes me question the photoperiod hypothesis.
It is certainly true in Australia that if the bees can fly and there is 
pollen or nectar the bees will certainly work. Trevor of course is in a 
sub tropical area. But anywhere in here on the mainland at least winter 
or autumn honey flows are common. The problem is that many of our honey 
trees are pollen deficient, meaning that the bees can collapse unless 
there is a pollen source at the same time; they turn themselves into 
honey. Yapunyah, Napunyah, depending on which side of the border one is 
on, is pollen deficient and a winter flowerer. Most years to get pollen 
one relies on ground flora, and that relies on rain at the appropriate 
time. A friend lost half their outfit one year as they didn't get the 
expected rain. Dead hives full of honey. One year a little west of 
Trevor where snow is not uncommon we had bees swarming in the middle of 
winter.

Geoff Manning
>
>And in my apiary when I tested Russian bees, they'd brood up as though it
>was April when we got a little pollen flow in cool November.
>
>--
>Randy Oliver
>Grass Valley, CA
>www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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