In a message dated 8/15/98 8:22:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
 
> This is late night armchair beekeeping and others may well debate  my
>  hypothesis but I think the break in egg deposition (she may continue to lay
>  eggs but not in cells) will enable bees to emerge and get to the nursing
> stage
>  and then be under worked rather than over worked.  This will enable them to
>  give the larvae the very best attention and diet which will enable the
> larvae
>  to cope successfully with the spores they will inevitably ingest.
 
 
     Go for it Chris!  I'll be interested in the results of your experiment.
 
     But...... I suspect it has a lot to do with hygenic behavior, which is a
genetic trait.
As you say, most hives clear it up by themselves, but I have a few each year
that do not. I believe they just don't have enough workers with this trait to
rapidly clean out the mummies. And they usually exhibit a lot of other
weakness too, whether or not it's directly related. For a while I wondered if
it was connected with the ultra golden color, as I had quite a few golden
hives that broke down, and stayed that way. But I don't have a lot of golden
stock anymore, and I still see an occasional bad case.
 
    My own observations probably don't qualify as science, no controls, no
double blinds, etc.....but requeening has always worked for me.