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Apis-UK Issue No.2 June 2002
Wiring in the wax
Photograph of David Cramp wiring in the wax a little late!

EDITORIAL
And so to the second edition of Apis UK, and I'm writing this minutes after hearing - on Radio 4's PM of all places - a report about the theft of bee hives in the UK! Something to do with the shortage of honey in the UK due to a restriction on Chinese imports. Perhaps, but if so, the thieves can't have known much about the profitability of beekeeping in the UK if they thought they would make much out of nine hives. Several years ago I nearly and very inadvertently I hasten to add, got involved in some beehive rustling myself having been conned by a certain Pepe the Bandit, a local Spanish beekeeper (and bandit). His feeding arrangements for his bees consisted of dosing them up with water in which rotten figs had been soaked for days, so you can tell what sort of cove he was. But back to business. The initial response to the newsletter has been very encouraging with messages from various parts of the world and a healthily growing subscriber list of several hundred so far. I also received a message from Mr M.T. Sanford the editor of the original Apis newsletter over in the USA which is still going strong. URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Apis_newsletter/

I have received various articles and items of information for this edition and to those correspondents I give my thanks. This type of input forms the backbone of this issue. Remember that Apis UK is still evolving, and will do so for a long time yet. So if you have something to say of relevance to beekeepers, let me know. The world wide web is very much an interactive medium, and beekeepers are very interactive people, so if you have beekeeping news, don't hold back.

In the next issue, I hope to feature amongst other subjects, Apitherapy which appears to be an up and coming subject on the apicultural scene, so if you have any views on the subject or interests in it, please contribute.

Combs in roof
Photograph of wild comb in the roof

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Event organisers are welcome to forward dates and details of their events to the editor (by email) for incorporation on this page.

10-14 June 2002 - National Diploma in Beekeeping Course at the National Bee Unit, York. Details from the Course Director, K Basterfield NBD, Old rectory, Gulworthy, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 8JA. Email: ken@basterfield.com

Saturday 15 June 2002 - Ludlow & District Beekeeping Association "Have they got Varroa?" with David Wilkins At Wapley Hill Fort, Herefordshire, UK. Map reference: SO 345 624 at 2.30 promptly. http://www.beedata.com/news/ludlow.htm


Monday - Friday 1-5 July 2002 - 6th European Bee Conference. Bees without frontiers. Cardiff, UK. Details of this conference can be obtained from Sandra Phillips at IBRA. Email: conference@ibra.org.uk http://www.ibra.org.uk * A more detailed description of this event is given below.

Tuesday 2 July 2002 -The Annual General Meeting of IBRA will be held during the above conference. http://www.ibra.org.uk

Saturday 6th July 2002
- Ludlow & District Beekeeping Association Apiary Meeting 'Assessment of Potential Honey Crop' with Richard Bolton at his out apiary at Clunton, Shropshire, UK Map Reference: SO 335 810 2.30 pm promptly
. http://www.beedata.com/news/ludlow.htm

12-14th July 2002 - KENT COUNTY BEES & HONEY SHOW at the Kent Agricultural Show, Detling, Kent UK. Come and steward and see the show. Contact Jane Mannings, 1 Crowdleham House, Heaversham Road, Kemsing TN15 6NG Tel: 01732-763811. Download Schedule from the KBKA website http://www.kentbee.com/kbbka.htm

12-14th July 2002 - Seale Hayne Conference at Newton Abbot, Devon UK. Speakers include Mark Winston and Francis Ratnieks. Details from Jane Ducker 01647 221255. Download more information [pdf 12kb] http://www.beedata.com/files/devon-conference-12-14july2002.pdf

4-6th September 2002 8th International Symposium on Hazards of Pesticides to Bees. Bologna, Italy. Contact Dr Claudio Porrini. Email: eporrini@entom.agrsci.unibo.it or Dr Gavin Lewis Email: gavin.lewis@jsci.co.uk

6th to 9th Sept 2002 - BIBBA Conference 2002 at Sheffield University Halifax Hall of Residence, UK.
Download more information [pdf 9kb] http://www.beedata.com/files/bibba-conference2002.pdf

11-15th September 2002 - INTERMIOD 2002. Moscow, Russia. 3rd International Exhibition and Conference. For more information contact: AV Cherekaev. Email: expostroy@expostroy.ru

14th, 15th, 16th November 2002
- The National Honey Show the biggest honey show in the world at Kensington Town Hall, Horton Street, London, England UK. http://www.honeyshow.co.uk

The Biggest Honey Show in the World

Change of date: The German Apitherapy Congress due to have been held this Spring has been postponed. More information can be found at: http://www.apitherapy.com

2-7 December 2002 - Canada/United States 2002 Joint Apicultural meetings. This series of meetings brings together The American Association of Professional Apiculturists; The Apiary Inspectors of America; The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists; The Canadian Honey Council; The Empire State Honey Producers' Association and the Ontario Beekeepers Association. For more information: http://www.honeycouncil.ca or http://www.ontariobee.com

Details of The Eastern Apicultural Society of North America meeting for 2002 (Honey for Health) can be found on http://www.easternapiculture.org


* Details of the 6th European Bee Conference (subject to change), are as follows:

The Spread of Exotic Genotypes. The Control of Pests and Diseases.
Session Leader: Ingemar Fries. (Sweden)

Introductions, Ecological Impacts and Regulations.
Session Leader: Kieth Delaplane. (USA).

Natural Bee Movements.
Session Leader. Juliet Osborne. (UK).

The Genetics of Bees and their Predators.
Session Leader: Robert Paxton. (Germany).

Wednesday Forum. This forum will include :Research Potential; Pathology; Bee Breeding and Genetics; Pollination and Plant protection; Physiology and Behaviour.

Existing and Future Networks:
The Apigen Network
The European Honey Research Network.
Beekeeping and Biodiversity. (BABE Network).
Funding Tools in the 6th framework.

A fifth session under Bernard Vaissiere (France) "Pollination: how far and how effective" is also taking shape.

Speakers at the conference will include bee researchers, beekeepers and bee scientists from: Finland, Germany, Italy, Brazil, South Africa, UK, Holland, Denmark, Spain, Mexico, Yugoslavia, France, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden and the European Commission. Full details on: http://www.ibra.org.uk Email: eurobee@ibra.org.uk

IN THE NEWS
BEES AND WAR
Bees and War is a subject older than time, and there are many documented examples throughout history of the use of bees to either attack or defend a position and even naval vessels of several countries routinely carried hives as part of their offensive armament. That outstanding German general Von Lettow-Vorbeck defeated a vastly superior British force in East Africa in 1914 by instructing his men to fire at log hives hung in trees, thus causing panic and retreat of the attacking force. This battle at Tanga, is still known as 'the battle of the bees'.

More recently, scientists in the US were working on 'directing' swarms of bees into enemy territory with the aim of then 'debriefing' them on return home to the hive by scanning them for traces of chemicals etc and thus gaining all sorts of intelligence. Now we have more evidence of bees being recruited, this time to 'sniff out' explosives. For the full story, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1986000/1986769.stm
Personally, I've always felt uneasy about enlisting other creatures into involvement in our arguments and despite the fact that millions may be spent on research into this type of thing, I'm not at all sure that these things have ever been successful. True, if you hurl a hive of bees at someone who is attacking you may succeed in detering the attack, but we all know stories of total cockups in the use of animals for warlike purposes. Was it the Germans or the Russians who trained dogs strapped with explosives to run under tanks and blow them up, only to end up destroying one of their own tank divisions because they didn't teach the dogs to differentiate between enemy and friendly tanks?
And I believe it was the Americans who developed the 'bat bomb' only to find that the confused bats destroyed two of their own aircraft hangers and a general's staff car before being hurriedly demobbed! I hate to think what will happen with the current research into 'Stealth Lobsters'. Dangerous stuff indeed.


HONEYTRAPS
I'm sure most readers will have heard of 'honey traps'. The KGB were reputed to use them almost on a daily basis to lure unsuspecting Western diplomats/military men etc into illicit affairs with beautiful girls (the honeys) then threatening to report the matter (usually with incriminating photos) to the victim's superior and/or wife unless secret information was forthcoming. Well insects use honey traps as well and one particular insect uses a particularly clever version of it to trap bees into doing what they want. True, it is not a honeybee that is the usual victim but it does involve sex and the target is a bee (the Habropoda pallida bee). If you want to know more, (and see the photos), then go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_734000/734916.stm

HONEY. A DANGER TO HEALTH
Did you know that as a beekeeper you (and your bees) are producing a potentially very poisonous substance? Probably not, but according to an international trio of scientists, honey has the potential to carry some very very disturbing plant poisons to the dinner table. Poisons identified by the World Health Organisation as being a serious threat to human health. These same poisons are being regulated in Europe when they occur in herbal medicines, but so far not in honey. The report below is in fact not just another food scare story, but an interesting and factual lesson in plant power and the huge potential of plants in the medicinal world. If bees can produce honey with substances detrimental to human health, they can equally produce honey containing substances from plants that could be of great benefit to health. See what you think by going to http://www.sciencenews.org/20020427/food.asp

EUROPEAN HONEY REGULATIONS
You need to know about these essential regulations before they come into force in August of 2003 so keep up to date by reading all about them and what concessions are available. This information is available on the BBKA website www.bbka.org.uk

BEEKEEPERS QUARTERLY
The latest edition of the Beekeepers Quarterly is out and apart from the editor's illuminating editorial, it is as usual packed with information, articles of interest and letters of controversy. The contents list is as follows:


BKQ No.69 May 2002 The Beekeepers Quarterly No.69 May 2002
http://www.beedata.com/bbq.htm

Letters to the Editor
Hodsock Priory, Open Mesh Floors, Global Warming, GM Crops, Honey and Antibiotics - allaying consumers fears, Wrangles over swarms Selling honey to supermarkets, First County Beekeeping Instructor?
Newsround
GM ISSUES: Trial Sites 2002, British scientists turn on GM food, Italian police raid Monsanto, Rogue GM plant warning, Five arrested at GM crop protest, Scottish GM, Greens take die PR shilling, HONEY: Chinese Honey Crisis, Organic Honey in the UK; Ant supercolony; Beekeeping Equipment.
Association News
NDB, Ken Basterfaeld - An Appreciation: Reg Gove NDB, FRES; BIBBA, Albert Knight- Make a Swarm Box for Transporting Grafted Larvae; Lincoln District BKA, Jonathan Korejko and Lindsey Dickens-The Beeb and the Bees; Bees for Development, Helen fackson; FHC, Sam GreenbankBorage, Marketing, Nestle; Apimondia - Celle Conference: Prevention of Honey Residues in Honey, 2003 Congress in Slovenia.
The Banks of Argentina
Roy Cropley - whilst the economy of Argentina is in free fall, beekeepers look to their queen banks for financial security.
Environment
Geoff Hopkinson NDB - The so called "Isle of Wight Disease";
The future of farming.
The Bee Colony/The Oil Company
an analogy, DrFrancis Ratnieks
Management: Do your bees have enough room?
Steve Taber- using hives with more than one brood box may be tricky, but it is often essential.
London Rooftop Beekeepers
New York, New York! Steve Benbow and Jill Mead. From the rooftops of London, to the skyscrapers of New York and the villages of Thailand, bees are busy everywhere.
From our correspondents
England, Dr Nigel Payne, Scotland, Nigel Hurst Brittany, Job Pichon; Portugal, Antonio Pouseiro; Poland, Maciej Winiarski; Ukraine, Dr AlexanderKomissar, USA, Ann Harmwin; Australia, GeoffManning, Canada, David Dawson; Lithuania, Rimantas Zujus; Cyprus, Roger White, Ireland, Philip McCabe
Back to Basics
R Raff- communicating with beekeepers worldwide.
Breeding Matters
John Atkinson NDB selection for characters of economic importance.
Bookshelf
Bee Propolis, James Fearnley; The Secret Life of Bees, Susan Monk Kydd; Bees Dance, Pr. Remy Chauvin & Patrice Seri Video: Starting Beekeeping, Paul Metcalfe
Science Review
Factors which contribute to swarming, Janet Dowling FRES
Collectors Corner

BEECRAFT
Bee Craft, the UK's monthly beekeeping Magazine in colour has the following contents list with interest for all beekeepers:

Beecraft Volume 84 Number 8 June 2002 Beecraft June 2002 Volume 84 Number 6
http://www.bee-craft.com/

Silver Jubilee at Stonleigh
Don Hannon
Queen rearing
Paul Metcalf NDB
Beginners' Bazaar
Matthew Allan NDB
Bee kind to your back (part 4)
Sarah Weaver B Physiotherapy MCSP SRP
Going fly-about (part 2)
Celia Davis NDB
Peoplekeeping
Jonathan Korejko
The Royal Hives at Highgrove
Mike Lambert
Honey bees, stingless bees, wasps and ants
Stephen Martin PhD
Bees and honey in the Quran
Dr Aziz Sheik & Professor A R Gatrad OBE
Beekeeping in Ireland
Eddie O'Sullivan
In the Apiary - Stonleigh & skyscrapers
Karl Showler
Obituary: John Scruby
Around the colony, Ask Dr Drone and the Bee Craft Crossword


BOOK REVIEWS
by John Kinross. (Bee Books New and Old).

Is it Clamp or Cramp? Some books to help.

"Don't cramp my style" is the favourite saying of a journalist friend who is always at loggerheads with his boss. This new production however is by David Cramp who is beating his drum loudly from distant Spain. I mention this because his little book "The Beekeepers Field Guide" is one of the most useful items in the beekeeper's library with hints on what to do in a variety of beekeeping situations, with colour photos, (including one of a sack tent - all the rage in lady's fashion in the 1970s) and a handy hint page on varroa. This book is £12-95 from bassdrum Books or via your usual bee book stockist. (I honestly didn't ask John to write that - Ed).

The Cramp disease hits those of you who still play squash, hockey or football. It can even strike one in bed when doing nothing but sheep counting. The IBRA "Honey and Healing" is an interesting read and costs only £5.50. It does have some illustrations not for the squeamish including a bottom cured by honey. I don't think it would work on me- too much of one and not enough of the other! Dr Harry Riches however has written of 'Medical aspects of Beekeeping'! £7.99 from BBNO or NBB with what he thinks about the claims of Royal jelly etc. His earlier books by the way, "Mead Making" at £9.95; "Honey Marketing" at £7.35 (updated last year) and "A handbook of Beekeeping" at £12.50 are still available.
Finally, Clamps were the favourite tool in the woodworking class.
If you make your own frames or lifts or supers and use old fashioned fish glue (seems to be out of favour due to the smell no doubt?) you need a good set of clamps. The book for you is by Norman Chapman and is called "Constructive Beekeeping". The special frame clamp is shown on page 94 and is made out of elasticated luggage hooks - until the hook flies off and hits you on the nose - which can be very painful. Norman's book is £14.99 from BBNO.

My wife is a great vegetable grower and our first crop of potatoes here were covered in a heap of earth - a potato clamp, and as my dictionary says the a clamp and cramp are the same thing I hope you will clamp onto David's newsletter and enjoy it.
Be careful though where you leave your car. I once went to London by car, forgot all about it, and came home on the train. By the time I retraced my steps to where I had left the car it had been well and truly clamped.

(Is someone taking the mick here? Ed).

MORE REVIEWS: David Smith. Secretary IBRA.
IBRA, is pleased that Malcolm Fraser's History of Beekeeping in Britain, which has long been out of print, has been reprinted by Northern Bee Books and is available from them at £13.45. The book was in some sense a successor to his earlier work, 'Beekeeping in Antiquity' first published in 1931. There was a second edition in 1951 which contained an appendix continuing the story from the classical period to the invention of printing. The preface to that edition stated that anyone who wished to pursue the subject could obtain from the secretary of the Apis Club for a shilling, a paper which carried the history of beekeeping up to 1800.

It is interesting to note that in 1958, the then Bee Research Association was announcing that British Bee Books, a bibliography 1500-1956 was shortly to be published as a companion volume. In fact it was not until 1979 that IBRA was able to publish the bibliography (with it's date extension to 1976). By that time much work had been done by others, and Joan Harding its originator had been joined by three other contributors. British Bee Books can still be obtained from IBRA or NBB so now at least the two companion volumes are available at the same time. They are an indispensable pair for anybody interested in British bee books and the history of beekeeping in Britain. In his preface to the book, Dr Fraser mentions the records of the Manor Courts and asked readers who came across such entries to send him a copy of them. IBRA would be interested in receiving details of these and indeed any other records that are available.

And finally for bee book lovers, further stocks have been obtained of Frank Alstons 'SKEPS' Their History, Making and Use. £10.95 NBB.

SKEPS Their History making and Use History of Beekeeping in Britain
SKEPS Their History making and Use Buy from NBB
History of Beekeeping in Britain Buy from NBB

ARTICLES
BEEKEEPING. BALLING THE QUEEN
The subject of balling the queen has long been a subject of discussion amongst beekeepers and yet still its reasons remain largely a mystery. Perhaps this could be an interesting subject for a bee research student (Post Grad Diploma/MSc/PhD etc) looking for a subject to investigate in depth. I have seen queen balling twice, both times on the same day with different queens and both times after introducing a new queen to a colony. Each time, I poked the ball around for a bit with my finger until I realised that I was making matters worse and each time I hurriedly re-caged the queen and let her out at a later date.
Neither of the queens did well. (But of course that could have been for many different reasons, including my rough handling of the queens when attempting to rescue them!). In this illuminating article John Yates looks at the subject from the scientific, anecdotal and personal experience points of view.

Balling the queen could be classed as an abnormal bee behaviour because it is comparatively rare. I have only come across balling once or twice during my beekeeping career which started in the early 1940s and always in circumstances that could be classed as normal.

There is very little information about this behaviour pattern in the classical literature and what is available is regrettably contradictory in places and not very exhaustive. Five well known sources were consulted, some living, some dead and the salient points of my search are listed below:

1. All sources seem to be agreed that when balling of the queen occurs, a sphere is formed consisting of about 25 to 50 workers surrounding a trapped queen. The size of the ball is about that of a walnut. Odd clusters of two or three bees fighting each other may be in the immediate vicinity.
2. Three sources consider balling to be an attack upon the queen and two consider it to be protective behaviour (curious because the queen always dies as a result of the balling unless the beekeeper intervenes).
3. During balling, the queen's appendages are damaged as a result of the bees biting the queen.
4. The cause of death is variously attributed to stinging by the workers and then eviction; being deprived of food and air; and another source does not give a cause of death but states that the queen is never stung. Perhaps all are correct under different circumstances.
5. During balling, a hissing sound is heard in the note of the colony. (Could this originate from the queen and be confused with piping?).
6. All sources seem to agree that dispersing the ball is best done by immersion in water and caging the queen for re- introduction.
7. Most of the sources seem to agree that it is more prevalent amongst the darker races of bee (A.m m).
8. The causes of balling have been attributed to a variety of reasons, Including:

a. Unseasonable disturbances? usually in the early Spring. (All sources agree on this point).
b. Premature? examination of the queen after introduction.
c. The queen aquiring a strange odour as a result of being handled. (Soap, nicotine etc).
d. The queen being frightened?
e. Poor weather when stores are short.
f. During robbing.
g. At times of stress when the queen cannot be replaced by the bees?
h. To protect the queen from another queen.
i. Frequent and inept inspections causing colony stress.
j. When a young queen is just beginning to lay after a long break.
k. When a queen has recently been introduced.
l. Occasionally when a queen returns from a successful mating flight, but not an unsuccessful one. (Curious).
m. During uniting when sometimes both queens can be balled.

I'm sure that you will agree that noting all of the above points tends to confuse rather than to clarify the issue. Note also that it has been reported that queen losses have occurred as a result of using the outdated tobacco smoke test for varroasis. The mechanism could be the workers balling a comatosed queen.

Brother Adam pointed out that balling is an 'everyday occurrence' with the Tellian bee (A.m intermissa) and since most of our mongrels have been derived from this bee it seems that the observation about the dark bees could be correct. I have heard that the balling characteristic of the Tellian bee could have its origin in nest defence, attacking a larger adversary by surrounding it in a ball and killing it as a result of high temperature generated in the ball. eg the tropical hornet which is a pest in Algeria. If so this would correlate with the statement that the queen is never stung to death and is more prevalent in the darker races.
The Eastern honeybee, Apis Cerana has evolved in regions where hornets are common and SJ Martin has pointed out in a lecture to the Central Association in 1994 that these bees have developed a collective behaviour pattern as a defence against hornets which results in balling by around 250 bees and killing the hornet by raising the temperature within the ball to about 47 degrees C (117F). (The mandarin hornet suffers this treatment when it attacks nests. Ed). I have not seen any reference to Apis cerana balling their own queens but that may be due to lack of study on my part about this species of bee.

The only scientific work that I know of, referred to by Janet Dowling in BKQ 39 was undertaken by Lensky. He induced balling by putting extracts from the koschevnikov glands of young queens onto worker honeybees. Atrophy of these glands occur in mated queens older than one year.
It seems clear that there is no scientific explanation available as to the origin of the cause of balling and most of the reasons put forward are considered by me to be guesses or flights of fancy. In the case of Lensky's work, if pheromones are
are released by the queen from the koschevnikov gland which induces balling, the queen appears to sign her own death warrant.

The facts remain one of those beekeeping mysteries. Our own experience is limited to two or three occasions over many years. The most recent was a few years ago in about May. Dawn and I were undertaking a routine inspection of all colonies in one of our apiaries and it happened in the last colony. The supers and queen excluder had been removed to inspect the brood chamber. About half way through the colony manipulation, Dawn heard the queen piping (Could this be the hissing sound reported by one source mentioned above?). This is something I have never heard in my life, no doubt due to a hearing deficiency. The queen was found on the last frame and was being balled. She was caged in a Butler cage, plugged with a wooden plug and put into the middle of the brood nest. Two days later she was released and she continued to head the colony successfully until the following Spring when she was replaced. (John adds that it emphasises the importance of having a cage handy in your bee jacket for use in an emergency).

If any beekeeper/bee scientist has anything to add on this subject, let us know.

AFB and EFB
These two diseases are possibly the most difficult to deal with amongst beekeepers. What you can do and what you can't; detection in the first place before all is too late; the use of chemicals or integrated prevention and cure techniques and so on. The bee press and many bee books further confuse the issue because various contributors and authors offer their own interpretations and ways of doing things which may not have been scientifically evaluated and may not be legal. How prevalent are the diseases? Who may treat them? With what? Two recent articles in Bee World highlight these problems offer both clarification and answers.

Is Contact Colony treatment with Antibiotics an Effective Treatment for EFB? This article written by scientists from the NBU, York, answers many of the questions asked by beekeepers by discussing the levels of EFB in England and Wales; The recurrence of EFB in apiaries; Contact colony treatment; and it finally asks 'Where do we go from here?' Here, the NBU is taking the approach of removing the source of infection (comb and boxes), and is trialling the 'shook swarm method'. Once infected comb is removed, the boxes are sterilised by scorching and shaking the adult bees onto clean foundation. The infected comb is burnt (although other sterilization methods are being investigated such as radiation treatment). Then the adult bees are treated with oxytetracycline (although they are considering whether this is necessary). See Bee World 82, 3 2001, or visit IBRa at www.ibra.org.uk IBRA members can access this and other article via www.ingenta.com

Clearing up any confusion over AFB appears to have been accomplished by another excellent Bee World Article with an article entitled American Foulbrood in Honeybees.
In recent years, one of the major problems hampering the development of apiculture is the disease AFB. In this article the disease is reviewed in detail, including its detection and diagnosis, prevention and control. Paenibacillus larvae larvae, the causative agent of the disease is also examined, and products of P.l.larvae culture are mentioned including interestingly enough the antibiotic substances and proteases.
This latter point is emphasised by the statement that the search for new sources of antimicrobial compounds apart from the usual moulds and actinomycetes is a very promising area of research that may have benefits beyond the field of apiculture.
The article concludes that in an age of rapidly booming technology transfer and commercialisation of biotechnology there is a tremendous impact on the methods of managing agriculture and industry particularly in developing countries. This also changes the face of apiculture and the way beekeepers deal with diseases
particularly AFB. For full details, see Bee World 82-4-2001, or www.ibra.org.uk IBRA members may access the article through www.ingenta.com

HISTORICAL NOTE
BEE REPRODUCTION
Honeybee mating behaviour has for centuries been the subject of study and interest amongst beekeepers and scientists, but until comparitively recently, knowledge of how they mate and when and where they mate has been limited in the extreme; the whole subject being regarded as an unexplained mystery. Prior to the eighteenth century it was believed by many that perhaps bees did not mate at all. Sir John More wrote in 'Englands Interest: or The Gentleman and farmer's friend', chapter VI: "There is a great contest amongst philosophical bee masters how the bees are generated: some are of the opinion that they never generate, but receive and bring home their seed from flowers; others say that they have amongst 'em both sexes, yet do not agree which are the males and which are the females". Others claimed that mating occurred in the hive or that the eggs were fertilised in their cells by drones, but in 1775 Janscha was able to describe queen orientation flights, subsequent aerial mating flights and her return to the hive with the mating sign. Similarly, Huber noticed that queens only produced workers following flight and that the return of a queen to the hive with a mating sign was a prerequisite to the queen producing worker offspring. Huber's observations with regard to the production of workers following a mating flight and mating sign effectively clinched the scientific argument - and he was blind
.

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