>
> > How would they obtain this information and where would the knowledge of
> it reside?


This is speculation, but a likely hypothesis:  Dr Brian Johnson found that
certain aspects of colony regulation are due to the experiences of mid-aged
bees that patrol the combs, gathering information on the status of the
colony.  They could easily get a "feel" for how much honey was stored, and
for how much brood and bees there was.  So this could be a source of the
"knowing."

In order to transfer that knowledge to the foragers, they could do so by
the signaling methods to the foragers as described by Dr. Seeley.

>
Since such assessment of stores and forager response to shortage or surplus
would have great survival value, and seeing that the more we study bee
behavior the more "intelligent" the colony communication appears, perhaps
we should not simply assume that
 "they have no way of knowing how much they have."

As far as Allen's suggestion that the foragers would preferentially forage
nearer to the hive, such communication is transmitted by the vigor with
which a returning forager dances (number of dances).

>
> >They never stop, thinking-- there, that's enough.
>

I feel that Allen addressed this question adequately.

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

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