> Maybe it is this reason that
> bees become 'fitter and fatter' rather than any perceived notion of
> approaching winter?

We know that nutrition determins whether an egg becomes a worker or a queen.
What do we know beyond that?  Is the bee milk from an older worker the same
as the bee milk from young workers?   How much does it vary with the colony
nutrition level or quality?  We know that colonies fed only some types of
supplement cannot continue to raise brood after a while, in spite of having
ample supplies.

Seems to me also that I read, probably here somewhere, that a study showed
that the transition from summer to winter bees normally took place at a
certain time of the summer, but was found to ocur later if a new queen was
introduced close to that time.  Was this due to the new queen laying more
eggs to be fed, the gap in brood rearing, the nature of the new queen?
Dunno.

Happy Turkey Day to our southern neighbours.

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/
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