In response to the interesting posting by JT, I can only say that
if I stand corrected, I congratulate the innovators who have overcome
the problem of year-round rearing of Bombus colonies. My impression
was that there was great difficulty in this aspect of Bombiculture.
I am not aware of any literature which indicates how the problem
has been overcome. This is not that surprising, I suppose, given the
commercial potential of such a break through. I presume that it will
be a matter of time before the technology is published. I understand that
Chris Plowright is able to provide bumblebees for research and commerce.
My remarks on the need for Bombiculture to be able to provide bumble-
bees for pollination services to agriculture/horticulture at pretty well
anytime and with consistent reliability seem to be "dated" given this
new information.