> It seems to me as well that colonies lacking in stores are far more agitated than those with heavy stores. 

I would hardly question the idea that a colony about to starve to death would behave differently than one well provisioned. That is not what this is about. It is about whether a colony which is very well provisioned changes its behavior compared to one that is less well provisioned. 

For example, are we to think that a colony with hundreds of pounds forages differently from one that has dozens of pounds? There are many things that cause bees to forage in a more or less risky fashion, but the amount of honey they have is not one of them. It is more closely related to the amount of *nectar* available, but also may be related to the hunger of individual bees. 

Pathogens such as nosema also appear to cause risky foraging, possibly by increasing hunger in the individual bees. But there is also evidence that unhealthy bees generally engage in risky behavior. It is adaptive for the older bees of the hive to take on the riskier occupations. Perhaps the bees self-select for these jobs on the basis of an age and/or health assessment.

PLB 

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