> What puzzles me is how can highly experienced beekeepers differ on what to
> me, at any rate, appears to be a fundamental point?.

Well, there has been little but assumptions throughout this discussion.
 Frankly -- to start with -- we don't even know what you are feeding or how or
why, although some apparently assumed they knew.

I responded, but you'll notice I did not ever even try address your question,
because it is simply not answerable in the form it was asked.  I merely directed
you to the previous discussions, so you could compare the situations and
experiences of others to your own -- a situation you alone know; so far, at
least.

The answers to any question can hardly be better than the question itself.  So
far you have given almost no information.  As for the general term 'feed bees',
what are we to assume?  Feed them what?  Pollen, water, honey, syrup, fondant,
dry sugar?  And how?  Maybe if you fill us in on the details we will be more
inclined to agree.

Even after a fair number of posts have been made on the topic, I still do not
have any definite information as to what you were contemplating or what you did,
and I am not willing to guess, since I am bound to be wrong in some significant
way.

It would be interesting to analyse what happened.  How about telling us.  In
detail?

> If seems to me, that feeding bees causes them to be aware of the presence of
> the food initially but not of its location, and if they can fly (the non
> dusk and weather OK situation), the entire area up to about 100 metres from
> the hive will be searched. This seems to equate to their response to the
> 'round' dance. This is a fundamental behaviour pattern and never varies (is
> that so?).

This is highly speculative and theoretical, and the subject of a current raging
debate right here on BEE-L.  In fact you've posted into some of the topics
yourself....

allen
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