> > Does anyone have any information on the way the group mind of the
> > colony behaves.
 
> For example I have heard that a colony will allow several queens to
> hatch out - isolating each one with a small court of attendants - to
> keep them apart. Letting them out one by one to mate and in some
> cases allowing several queens (up to four in the case mentioned ) to
> lay in separate parts of the hive without any fuss.
>
> I know about the Chemical signals emitted by the Queen but it is
> this detailed working of the consensual mind that is the curious
> feature I am interested in.
 
Allen Latham used to talk about 'control bees' that are responsible
for decisions and strategies in a hive.  It is an interesting
concept and explains many things that a strictly mechanical/chemical
model does not.
 
Problem:  No one has been able to identify any bees that can be
proven to be control bees.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>