>The end result can be enough numbers for pollination but then later in the > season many of those weak combines are non productive. Three poor queens do > not a strong hive make! > The end result is enough boxes to hold the pallets down, but not enough bees to justify what the grower is paying in rent. Three poor queens do not a good pollination unit make! Bob, I heartily agree with you that it makes little sense to ship unsorted colonies ot California. Last year, there were substantial proportions of rented colonies in some orchards that had wax moth webbing across the top bars. Frankly, I'm amazed that every grower doesn't open more lids! Randy Oliver *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Access BEE-L directly at: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L