> His letter describes how scientists, using an electron microscope found
> systematic etchings on the bottom of honeycomb cells. At first they thought
> these marks were random, but after entering them into a super computer and
> comparing them from many other hives, have identified an alphabet!

These are remarkable findings! You need to include a bit more of the article
for a fuller appreciation.

"Wenner's work has been ignored or questioned by many in the scientific
community but recent studies should put an end to the controversy."

<snip>

"Needless to say, scientists are very excited about these latest discoveries
which should put an end to the language controversy for all time.
Significantly, Wenner has been noticeably silent on these new findings."

What a hoot! Great letter from Joe Traynor. I about fell over laughing with
this one. And yet the controversy won't die. Last night at our annual
beekeeping association banquet, Gene Killion had the new Honey Bee Trading
Cards for sale that were prepared by the University of Nebraska Cooperative
Extension Service. After thumbing through the deck of cards I came across
one titled "Waggle Dance." The standard figure eight drawing was on the
front of the card showing "the dance" and on the back is a description of
the dance language. It reads:

"Honey bees communicate the location of resources by a symbolic dance
language. The dance language was first explained by Professor Karl von
Frisch who received a Nobel prize for his work. This card shows the waggle
dance. It tells other bees the distance, direction, and odor of a resource.
Honey bees can give precise directions to a field of flowers that is two
miles from the hive! Could you give precise directions to a field that is
two miles from where you are standing?"

It amazes me that in light of all the published research done by Wenner and
others, giving us ample evidence that odor is the key element here, "we"
continue to teach a new generation of half truths. At the very least, common
sense would dictate that one should mention there is evidence to the
contrary of von Frisch's ideas or that a controversy even exists over this
issue. I would expect a better representation of the "dance language" than
what was given. Some things never want to change.

Regards,

Barry