Hi Alden and All:
 
>Of course another aspect is also likely, bees probably learn well before it
>is to cold to fly that there is no sources available in the area and what is
>the sense of looking especially if is cold?
 
You are quite right I believe, and about the economics of sugar
concentration too.
 
>Of course it is unlikely anyone knows what if any thought processes occur
in >the bee, probably all instinct.
 
Here I beg to differ.  A great deal more is known about the thought
processes in bees than in many other animals.  Because they are so easy to
keep and will fly to food sources and back home they have been the subject
of many experiments involving learning and discrimination.  For example how
long does it take to train bees to certain colours, or what shapes can they
discriminate most easily, and so on.  Remarkably, bees can be taught to
navigate a maze in only 6 times the length of time that it takes to teach a
rat (on average).
 
Among the multitude of things that constantly amaze me about our little
friends,  I think the MOST AMAZING is the fact that their tiny little brain
can store all the instinctual information needed to perform ALL the
different tasks that workers do as they age, all the information needed to
process the input from their many sensory organs, and still has room for
this fairly high level of learning.
 
I would be interested in reading posts from people with more information
about learning in bees.
 
Have a nice day.   Stan