> How about more recent anecdotes than 100 year-old ones?

I suggest having a good look at Pellett's book before dismissing his observations. If you compare it with contemporary books on queen rearing, you will find that very little has changed. On the matter of caging queens, it had to do with shipping them, not just caging them. 

I agree with Randy that changes in temperature could account for everything we see, rather than the act of interrupting the egg laying. I was just adding Frank's voice to the others; may he long be remembered as an acute observer and a great pioneer of queen breeding.

PLB

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