In a message dated 23/09/2009 11:23:46 GMT Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: Nonetheless, the mere fact that a daily newspaper anywhere in the world, dares seriously raise the possibility that the 1973 Nobel Prize winning claim that honeybees have a "dance language", might be abandoned, is a welcome, and encouraging sign of a basic change in the scientific zeitgeist! Pettigrew in his 'Handy Book of Bees' (p.49 from memory - I don't have a copy - they're too expensive!) was suggesting a century earlier than that that the dance was a language. However, dancing may not be the whole answer, as Ruth so keenly and frequently points out, to bees' success in locating and using sources of useful forage. A few years ago at the AGM of DARG, the Devon Apicultural Research Association, the guest speaker advanced the hypothesis that bees could "see" in the infra red range through sensors on their antennae the radiation emanating from areas of useful forage. Chris *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Access BEE-L directly at: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L