Hi All I have enjoyed the TM discussion so far and just thought I would throw in my bit as a microbio person. The treatments described seem to involve getting the antibiotic into as many bees as possible. I would theorise that one actually wants to medicate one full life cycle of bees, so as to have ensured that young raised are fed by adults who have embibed spores which germinated and died. What the young are fed must also contain medication. One wants the base of all cells being used for brood to be filled with TM containing food produced by nurses fed by workers eating tm contaminated food sources. Hence one should have a period when the total number of spores in the hive will decrease dramatically as they are lapped up by cleaners and killed with TM when they germinate. In the end, a number of the bacteria will develop TM resistance. To do this they will probably have hauled water from a puddle with a Cow pat in it. Cows are fed TM and harbour hundreds of TM resistant strans. These bacteria will die and the bacillus we are interested in may pick up that DNA and become TM resistant. However it now has to lug this big piece of DNA around that gives it this resistance. When you take the TM away, and bacteria that are silly enough to lug this gene around for a while will die becuase the others that have thrown it away again have a competitive advantage. And the chances are, if a bug is carrying that gene around for resistance it will become that much less virulent and the bees may be able to cope with it anyhow. Many prophylactic treatments work in this fashion - to encourage resistant strains that can then be mopped up by natural systems available in the organism being treated. It's a bit like building special fences around houses that require a burglar have several spades tied to each leg to be able to get over them. It is much easier for police to catch these burglars, and if one takes the fence away later and the burglars are stupid enough to continue wearing the spades the cops will have a field day. Just my two milligrams. Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc)