Garth wrote a month ago:
 
>I had the experience this weekend again of running in a swarm that
>had just left. Basically I ran with them for about half a kilometer,
>accorss flat terrain on a farm. Suddenly I noticed that the swarm
>contracted into a tight lump, gained altitude and then sort of
>'hyperspaced'. They just speeded up incredibly convincingly.
>
>How do they do this?? Why don't they do it from the beginning?? Is
>there any explanation for how they do this??
>---
 
Joel Govostes concurred:
>
>Amazing.  I've tried to chase 'em before.  Bad idea.  Hopeless.  Just when you
>think you *might* be able to keep an eye on them, even with such a spread-out
>volume of bees, all flying crazy, they suddenly ...disappear. Hyperspace!
 
   Some help in understanding what might be happening can be found in the
following:
 
  1992  Wenner, A.M.  Swarm movement: A mystery explained.  Am. Bee J.  132
(1):27-31.
 
                                                Adrian
 
Adrian M. Wenner                         (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office)
Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology           (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara           (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
 
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*  "...scientists are paradoxically resistant to change, even when    *
*  confronted with evidence that virtually demands change of them."   *
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*                                 Barber, 1960 (in Greenberg, 1983)   *
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