Hello All,
>
> This agrees with my source, for an average. They put the minimum
> average per bee at 103 mg. They state that 5000 would be based on a
> bee with an empty honey sac, such as a departing forager.

Most package bee producers figure around 3500 bees to the pound as all I 
know use smoke in the process. For two very good reasons. Bees are being 
sold by weight and the package producer wants bees gorged with syrup for 
transportation and bees gorged with honey are easier to handle.

Bees gorged with syrup/honey ( as in swarm) can easily survive for several 
days without syrup *unless the weather is cold and the bees need to generate 
heat.* .

The big truth is most smoked bees and have gorged on honey use little syrup 
sent along with the bees. In a recent packager arrival from California one 
could pour around 20 gallons of syrup from the cans into a 55 gallon drum 
from around 100 packages on arrival. Usually the only empty cans come from a 
can with holes too large and the syrup has run out. Some always arrive with 
completely full cans in which the holes  too small for the bees and these 
usually arrive in great shape.

Package producers which store filled packages in storage (up to two weeks at 
rare times and usually in a cold artificial environment) depend on syrup 
containers for the bees survival. In those cases up to half the syrup will 
be gone which in my opinion is a giveaway that said package bees have been 
in the package for a time period. Certainly over 3 days or not smoked when 
caged.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison 

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