Pete, I don't think that anyone is disputing that given the chance on a
good flow, that a colony will store as much honey as space allows.

What I found of interest in this discussion is how the behavior of bees
apparently (Allen's and my observations) changes in response to the amount
of amount of stored honey (likely some critical threshold).  Above that
threshold, there does not appear to be any change in behavior.

So my question is whether the colony actually is able to determine that
threshold--the threshold being reached prior to starvation.  In other
words, will a colony that is low on stores, but not actually starving,
forage with more vigor, especially in fall?

You referred that there were studies in which stores had been
experimentally removed from colonies.  Have you got them at hand?
-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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