>True that, but they also produce an amazing amount of honey in a short time ... Provided that there is a good flow on of course. Many a time I have seen a prime swarm just dwindle away when the weather has been against them. The population of a swarm reduces quite rapidly after it has set up house - pointing to the fact that there must be a fair proportion of older bees. I think the evidence suggests that swarms must have a good mix of old and young bees. Best wishes Peter 52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W *********************************************** 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