Joel Govostes wrote:
>
>No less fascinating is the fact that once a swarm takes off and finds a new
>cavity in which to live, the bees "forget" about the parent hive location.
 
For many years I also have been fascinated by this interesting
phenomenon of bees forgetting their old hive location.  Even if the
swarm is captured and the new hive moved near the old, the bees will
mostly pay no attention to it any longer but quickly learn the position
of the new hive.  And if I stand there enthralled, I myself will become
part of the new environment in their education, with bees carefully
learning my position.
 
This is amazing to me, because their brains are so tiny.  I occasionally
mentioned this to neuroanatomists in my acquaintance.  It seems to me
that the honey bee would be an ideal research subject to study memory
(and forgetting).  However, there is something about bees which turns
the minds of many away.  Maybe I'll just have to look into it myself
(!).
 
Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA