"john f. mesinger" wrote:

>          I would not trust bar type queen
> excluders to work with every queen; particularly a swarm queen who may not
> have a full load of sperm.

The queen's spermatheca stays the same size, regardless of mating success - at
least in the 200-300 which I examined, dissected, and sectioned when I worked
with H.K. Poole. It is held spherically rigid by its outside net of tracheoles
and thick outer wall.
-----------------------------------------------------------
John F. Edwards
- formerly insect microsurgeon (1967-73), specializing in spermathecal research

Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
Agricultural Research Service - USDA
Tucson, Arizona 85719
http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/home/edwards/edwards.html