< "What we see now is brood that was previously capped, then uncapped at the purple-eyed stage, and then (apparently) recapped. > I've noticed this almost ten years ago occurring in regressed bees. I've observed that cells may be uncapped and recapped in 2 or three days. The behavior tended to be exhibited in my colonies much more back than it is today. <If so, I want some queens to through into my genetic pool.> IMO, this trait has yet to be understood OR value to beekeepers interpreted to assume that it is even beneficial. In my area, varroa is well handled by the bees, and I tend not to see this trait exhibited much anymore, except to a very small degree in very early spring and autumn. Therefore, I am forming an early opinion that colonies in 'my area of low varroa pressure' which are exhibiting a high degree of bald eyed pupa, -might actually be more suggestive of a colony having higher mite loads or a tougher time with mites -perhaps indicating a lacking in a well balanced degree of other resistance mechanisms. This 'might' cause me to consider the colony as a candidate for culling. - I'm reading colonies which exhibit a large degree of bald eyed pupa as a 'stress indicator'. One or two uncapped pupa in very early spring and Autumn, -is ok and I like to see that occur. Best Wishes, Joe Waggle http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/ *********************************************** 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 Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm