> >That is the whole point I was trying to make, that colonies widely
> separated never share, while in apiaries stuff gets shared but probably not
> deliberately.


I'm weighing in with Pete on this point.  I can see no evolutionary benefit
to a drifted forager passing on information to a competing colony, with
regard to the of passing on of her genes.

On the other hand, these last weeks I've been closely watching the
entrances of a yard of cell builders on mornings following days of rain.
The returning foragers of some hives quickly find pollen and nectar
sources, and apparently share that information with their kin in the same
hive.  Those hives get a competitive jump on their neighbors for limited
critical resources.

As Pete points out, bee colonies are cutthroat competitors--they would not
intentionally want to share such valuable information with another colony.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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