>
> >I would hardly question the idea that a colony about to starve to death
> would behave differently than one well provisioned. That is not what this
> is about. It is about whether a colony which is very well provisioned
> changes its behavior compared to one that is less well provisioned.
>

And what is the definitive tip point between a colony "about to starve to
death" and one that is "very well provisioned"?I

>
> >For example, are we to think that a colony with hundreds of pounds
> forages differently from one that has dozens of pounds?


I'm wondering about one that has a few pounds rather than dozens of
pounds.  It appears to me that colonies with only a few pounds of reserves
behave very differently than those with dozens of pounds.  With a few
pounds of honey remaining, no individual bee should be suffering from
starvation if, as you suggest, that they have no way of knowing how much
honey is in the hive.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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