last of the winter

The bees died, all frozen, bodies tested (AOAC or BAM), in two 20 bee lots. Results cfu per BEE: total coliform : 50; Strep. species: <4; Staph. species/S. aureus : <4/<4; Listeria species: negative per 20 bees; Paenibacillus species: <2; Salmonella species: negative per 20 bees; APC (SMA 24/48 hr 32'C): 1500/63,000; molds/yeast: 1,100/1.9 million; A dilution of 1 bee:10 mL buffered water gave a strong positive on a standard bio assay (B. sterothermophilus) for antibacterial antibiotics. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------