Thanks Allen

> but, truly, my opinion is not worth much.

Yes it is.  It is not just that you have been a successful
commercial bee farmer and a mainstay of this group, but also
that for a topic such as this *everyone* can have a
worthwhile opinion.  The science is accessible enough.

> I have no real clue, and am trusting others.

Sometimes we need to question those we trust, as their view
many have narrowed too much.  It might be based on the best
evidence available at a certain time, and that best evidence
will probably change over the years.

You wondered about what drives the passion of those that
entered the debate.  I'm entirely with Jim, and am now
considering the possibility of having on my gravestone (if
Jim doesn't mind):
'He was passionate about rationality'!

It isn't the dance per se that gives me my passion (though
it is one mean feat for a small insect), rather that it
grieves me when people misrepresent science.  Its that
'science' versus 'belief' thing again.

> If I have to have an opinion, I suppose that is it.

I quite like your McDonalds analogy.  If it is downwind (or
far away) you'd be wise not to rely only on smell.  Yes, you
can motor around, looking for likely spots.  Best to ask
someone though, and no doubt at some point in the
explanation, they'll point.  If you end up downwind, you'll
smell it too.  I'm sure that bees do more by scent than we
do, but otherwise all of these ploys will be used by them
too.  The pointing part of the story (like the scent part)
has been adequately demonstrated by now, even if some of the
detail still has to be teased out.

all the best

Gavin

PS  In answer to Dick M, the scientific consensus seems to
be that the dance is one way to communicate about general
directions, and that odour and sight play a part in the
final localisation too.

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