Dee Lusby <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Take the years when spring is coming on fast and plants are
>starting to bloom, and you find then bees quickly chewing
>out frames of granulated honey to make room for expansion
>of broodnest, vs those years when spring is coming on slow
>and they are having to save and use every ounce of food
>they have.

Hi Dee,

Yes, this would probably be the appropriate explanation if ALL colonies in 
a bee yard or in same micro habitat were exhibiting seasonal behavioral 
characteristics that could be correlated to environmental conditions.  
But, in a group of hives, << all things being equal >> with similar colony 
strength etc,  if some colonies exhibit chewing and others pulling, I 
would think that  the behavior is more associated with a trait rather than 
environmental.  But if all colonies are either pulling or chewing 
according to flows and weather conditions, then I might think the behavior 
is more associated with environmental influences.     But it probably 
wouldn’t explain the chewing out behavior seen  in my colonies during  the 
fall, a time of abundance with the aster  flow.  

…A slow mode and a
>fast mode depending upon the time frame at hand, besides
>the amount of workers available, and strong hive vs weaker
>hive? LIke I said all animals do think and I think bees
>think more then many give them credit for.................

Division of labor and environmental conditions would certainly would 
influence many colony functions.  But what I am seeing <<’in my 
colonies’>> is chewing out pupa as opposed to pulling pupa.  I am seeing 
chewing out behavior in colonies as small as  single frame nucs, on up to 
mature colonies.

I also give all honeybees an abundance of credit for the ability to think 
things out.  But when talking traits, ‘as smart as I know my bees are‘, I 
would not expect them to be capable of thinking up a trait (to use another 
example, theklytoky) if the bees do not carry the trait to some degree.  
What I have learned from the little experience I have with breeding, is 
that you cannot develop a trait, that is not already present in the 
genetics to some degree. 

Joe Waggle 
Ecologicalbeekeeping.com 
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' 
Feral Bee Project:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/ 

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