Hi All:
 
Here is the abstract of a paper on ant brains:
 
Based on a brief description of the general brain morphology of
Camponotus floridanus, development of the brain is examined in ants of
different ages (pupa to 10 months). During this period, brain volume
increases by approximately 20 % while the antennal lobes and the
mushroom body neuropile show a more substantial growth, almost doubling
their volume. In addition to the age-dependent changes, the volume of the
mushroom body neuropile also increases as a consequence of behavioural
activity associated with brood care and foraging. Foraging activity may
lead to a more than 50 % additional increase in mushroom body neuropile
volume. It is unlikely that the growth of mushroom body neuropile results
from cell proliferation because no neurogenesis could be observed in adult
ant brains.      (Journal of Experiment Biology 199(9) 2011-2019)
 
The mushroom bodies are the "higher" centres of the bee (insect) brain.
They grow with age and new (age dependent) activity in the insect.  Our
brain shrinks as we age (and moreso in males!).
 
By the way, this abstract comes from a very neat website!!!!!!!
http://www.cob.org.uk/JEB
At that site are the Journal of Experimental Biology, the Journal of Cell
Science, and Development.  All the journals are searchable (separately or
together) and you can read the abstracts.  YOU CAN EVEN DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE
ARTICLE in acrobat format.  Unfortuneately this last feature is due to end
on March 2 unless you subscribe.
 
If you want to see some interesting abstracts, try "bees and navigation" (a
whole slew of papers on this) "bees and magnetoreception", or whatever in
the search engine.
 
One paper says that bees chew the bottom combs away from the frames because
those are the combs they like to dance on, and they transmit the low
frequency vibrations that the bees make while dancing much better when they
are not fastened as firmly to the wood on the bottom!
 
Regards, Stan
thinking ...they must be doing a polka in those top bar hives