At 03:05 PM 11/23/05 -0000, you wrote:
>Now...if only someone would tell us how to get bumblebees to produce queens
>and drones so we, as beekeepers, could get a piece of the market for
>supplying them as pollinators!

When I was a kid, there was an old lady gardner near by that used to keep
bumblebee colonies in pottery flower pots in her garden. The pots were
inverted with a rock on top and had a hole in the side. She'd put a few
mouse nests in the pot. The bumblebees just moved in.

This past summer was a good season for bumblebees around here, there were
lots out and around in even the worst weather. I was tempted to try to get
some colonies going using the above method but never found the time.
Perhaps I'll try next year.

George-

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