Hi All
 
I read with interest the posting under the above subject.
 
From my limited study so far, it seems to me that bees do not have
intelligence as we understand the term. Their relationship with the world
which they perceive, is based on instinctive responses to stimuli. They do
not reason as such, but can respond to a very great number of stimuli.
 
It would for example appear intelligent, that a nurse bee feeds a larva in
need of food, or that a queen larva will be given different food after the
third day, to that given to a worker larva. However, scientific studies have
determined, that the nurse bee's reaction is purely on the basis of a
'hunger' message or a 'status' message emitted by the larva, and not on the
basis of any rational decision by the nurse bee.
 
Similarly the queen will lay unfertilised eggs in drone cells based on the
size of the cell as indicated to her by her antennae. She does not, as it
were, use a ruler as we would have to do, but responds to a two value
message - drone cell or not.
 
No doubt, beekeepers better qualified than I, can give a better and/or a
more informed dissertation on this subject.
 
Sincerely
Tom Barrett
49 South Park
Foxrock
Dublin 18
Ireland
 
e mail [log in to unmask]
Tel + 353 1 289 5269
Fax + 353 1 289 9940
 
Latitude  53 Deg 16' 12.8" North
Longitude 06 Deg  9' 44.9" West