Jerry Bromenshenk clarified his earlier request, as follows:

>  Our mathematician is used to modeling signals from radar, cell
>phones, etc.  He contends that he can do the same for bees.  He also argues
>that the probability of a bee detecting something (i.e., a flower, feeder,
>etc.) is a function of the number of bees leaving and entering the hive
>(corrected for those who linger at the hive entrance rather than foraging).

   It would appear that the mathematician has something to work with there.
The number of bees searching for a food source in the field actually has a
great deal to do with the success of each searching bee.

   For an example, one can peruse the results in the following study.

   1973  Friesen, L.  The search dynamics of recruited honey bees, Apis
mellifera ligustica Spinola.  Biol. Bull.  144:107-131.

   I have an extra copy to mail, if someone should be interested.

                                                Adrian

Adrian M. Wenner                    (805) 963-8508 (home phone)
967 Garcia Road                     (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106  [http://www.beesource.com/pov/wenner/index.htm]

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*
*    "Aesthetic judgments do not arbitrate scientific discourse....
*   Ultimately, theories are judged by how they fare when faced
*   with cold, hard, experimental facts."
*                                          Brian Greene, 1999
*
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