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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Peter Loring Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 10 Jan 2018 19:01:29 -0500
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> So, I am not so sure that "we already know they make deliberate choices about which worker eggs to raise as queens." >
> My apologies for not posting the link

No need to apologize, you are among friends here. Besides, it brings up an interesting question, which I will not attempt to answer. Which is, at what point do we begin to say "we know" instead of we think, we believe, we surmise, etc. 

Fact is, concerning behavior, so much of it is tightly linked to environmental conditions -- and also genetic predisposition. So that at times we are reluctant to say what bees will do, because they might react in any number of ways.

At the same time, people are always trying to figure out the rules, hoping to base their practices or lesson plans on these so-called rules. It is wise to consider the range of behaviors, and remember the unusual "outliers" -- these often hint at the unexpected.

PLB

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