Short story 1980s Canada a tiny intelligent species with short lifespan in a laboratory

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Beekeeper

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Is studied and must evolve to invent solutions to the challenges created in their environment by researchers. Possibly dealt with religious themes as the colony became aware of the existence of the researchers (deities) who were manipulating their world.
 
My passion for beekeeping has lead me to explore a treatment free approach to beekeeping. This involves allowing susceptible strains (to parasites, viruses and contaminants) to perish. Surviving strains are propogated in an attempt to encourage development of resistant survivor honey bees. There are parallels between my current reality and this story from my youth.
 
Hi Beekeeper and welcome to the Chrons !:)

I don't read short stories, so I'm afraid I cannot help you.

Those bees will need a bit of human help in order to survive, especially in a very polluted environment.
 
How about Brian Aldiss' "Total Environment". This describes a sealed off social experiment within a massive building in India that has lasted 25 years and now involves 75,000 people living within its walls. During this time, life-span and height have greatly reduced but other qualities have evolved. The main character, Thomas Dixit, enters from the outside world to assess whether it should close down or continue.
 
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There was a story about a man who had a colony of little beings inventing things for him. I want to say it was Zelazny who wrote it, but a level-1 search didn't find it. ):
--Paul E Musselman
 
I think I once saw an episode of The Twilight Zone where the theme was of little creatures that took their caretaker as their god. They built a bust of him using the material in their sandbox.
 
Rafael said:
I think I once saw an episode of The Twilight Zone where the theme was of little creatures that took their caretaker as their god. They built a bust of him using the material in their sandbox.
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I suspect that's an episode of The Outer Limits, one based on the George RR Martin novelette, Sandkings.
 
Hah! I almost never watched The Outer Limits but I watched and remembered that episode. I wonder if Sandkings is what the original poster (otherwise called the OP, was looking for?)
 
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In the absence of any feedback from @Beekeeper , I'm going with the Perishers and "The Eyeballs in the Sky".
 
Parson said:
Hah! I almost never watched The Outer Limits but I watched and remembered that episode. I wonder if Sandkings is what the original poster (otherwise called the OP, was looking for?)
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There is some similarity in the concept and it's the right timeframe since it was released in the 80s. If the OP says it was set in Canada that wouldn't fit, the original story is on a colony planet and the TV adaptation was in the US. Also, the original story doesn't have any researchers in it, the Sandkings are pets (although in the Outer Limits the owner was a NASA researcher).
 
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