Hi all

I have changed the thread from LD50 as that seems to have lost it's
relevence...

Jim's  post has several interesing bits and pieces in it and I wonder if we
can tease them out and learn something new.

> I guess that they are wearing the latest spring fashions from
> the Brian Sheriff collection, and don't notice the stings that
> their suit is taking.

I think this point is quite significant and has considerable negative impact
on the non beekeeping public.

I believe that it has come about because beekeeping association membership
is dwindling and we beekeepers are trying to attract new recruits that
otherwise might not have stayed the course. But it does give rise to
tolerance of bee colonies that are more defensive, this matters little to
the armour plated beekeeper, but has a profound effect on on-lookers or
passers-by.

> Bees on an "attack run" have
> a easy-to-hear higher frequency "buzz" from their wings.

Easy to hear yes, but I personally have never developed the skill of
singling out the "attacker" and despatching her. I have seen others do this
with what looked like "magical" skill. I blame my trifocal spectacles for
the inability to develop this technique.

> a) How did the second bee decide to do a "defensive
>    reconnaissance patrol flight" if the fate of the
>    first Kamikaz-bee is unknown to the hive?

This implies something in the nature of  regular scouting sortie, but this
may not be far from the mark. Graham Law has reported an activity that he
terms a "weather man bee" whereby in cold conditions a single bee will make
a regular short trip outside the hive (often no more than a loop 450 mm in
diameter). I have noticed this happening in my own apiary.

> Something is going on here that has yet to have been documented.
> All I can imagine is that there has to be some sort of "check-in"
> protocol among the guard bees for a bee returning from a "defensive
> reconnaissance patrol", and after about 5 minutes, the first
> Kamikaz-bee is assumed "missing in action", and another reconnaissance
> sortie is launched by one of the remaining guard bees.

I  have always assumed that the Kamikaz-bee was a heightend state of
guarding behaviour, but when I think about it I have nothing concrete to
hang this assumption on.


Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping and Bee Breeding Website
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman

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