> >We have used incubators to house Queen cells in for years. To date we have >not seen any diffrence in the size or weights of our queens due to running >the incubators at lower temperatures (93 F) we often times will lower the >temperature a degree or two to delay emergence of the Queens because of >weather etc.. As the lower temp. retards the development of the queens I do >not understand how it could make the queens any Bigger or Stronger. If >anybody else has any experence in this, I would be glad to hear about it. If >I could get bigger stronger Queens from lowering the Temperature I would do >it all the time. > >Dean Breaux >Hybri-Bees > Hi Dean, Yes there is a period and a temperature that will cause death. However the most important period of a bee larvae is the royal jelly supply, if this is reduced or termenated early the bee will bee undersized or malformed , and have a reduced physical strength. Therefore the most important period to maintain a good regular temperature in a hive or incubator is this period of the feeding of the larvae. Regards, Dr Brian E Goble PhD Ecology Research Centre Thanks from : [log in to unmask] http://www.eastend.com.au/~goble [log in to unmask] ( David Goble ) American Beach Kangaroo Island South Australia