Most often the bees are found to be demoralized when there are no eggs or 
young open brood left and no queen cells being tended.  Before we even lift 
a frame we can hear either the agitated queenless roar busy trying to set 
things right, or the desolate moan of the demoralized hive.

-------------------------------------------------

I remember reading in one of the old bee books on my shelf of a study that 
was done where all the drones were removed from a colony during the 
honey-making season.  (A bigger honey crop - they just eat and don't 
produce.)  The comment was made that the absence of the drones caused the 
colony to have "poor moral."  That does sound a bit like an emotion.  The 
crop was not improved.

If you believe the behavioral psychologists, emotions are really only a 
learned behavior.  Why could not an animal as behaviorally complex as the 
honey bee learn behaviors that we would tag as emotions.

Larry Krengel
Marengo, IL USA

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