> The fact that in the study you mention stress was t Hi Steve and All > The fact that in the study you mention stress was the same for > all colonies just means that stress was not a part of the test. > Stress may not be easily measured, but it certainly can be > induced. Agreed. Remember that the report said this: 'The colonies that had been irradiated showed a 70% survival rate, which, in the world of commercial beekeeping isn't too bad, unfortunately.' With 70% survival being typical it certainly sounds like the management systems employed stress colonies. all the best Gavin (whose current 60% survival rate suggests that his practices are worse than those of US commercial beekeepers!) ****************************************************** * Full guidelines for BEE-L posting are at: * * http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm * ******************************************************