Barry said:

> A bee observing the dance will become aware of the scent of
> apple blossom on the dancing bee and will use the distance
> and direction information to avoid the discovered tree to
> maximise its chances of finding another apple tree by looking
> for the same scent.

But there is no need to do so.  Dance information is never
accurate enough to point to a specific tree.  A stand of
trees, yes.  A single isolated tree in the middle of a field,
sure, but that scenario is rare.

> The overall result for the hive is that because some other bees do use
> the information in the dances to go to the discovered flowers, and some
> other bees use the information to most quickly find the same new flowers
> in other directions, the whole area over which bees from that hive can
> forage is searched for the most productive flowers. The overall result
> is that the foraging success of the hive is maximised.

I prefer the foraging model described by Seeley in "Wisdom of the Hive",
with his explanation of how bee "spread their bets" in foraging, and the
description of the specifics of the dance mechanism given by Gould and
Gould in "The Honey Bee".

                jim

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::