>You also try to imply that anarchy and thelytoky are useful fall back
>strategies, there are 'fall back' strategies, but they are 'last ditch'
>extreme strategies 

Hmm. The use of the word strategy here is extremely tenuous. Strategy
implies some sort of intelligence, and while I think there is a form of
intelligence operating in the honey bee colony, -- this is not about that.
To talk about strategy in evolution is to veer toward "intelligent design"
and we aren't going there, are we? 

In evolution, useless organs or behaviors are generally weeded out
automatically. Laying worker colonies usually die, so the trait is not
intensified. Colonies that successfully supersede their queens will tend to
prevail, as this is a beneficial trait which ensures the survival of the
colony (as well as that particular genetic line). 

As I mentioned in my previous post, there is very important reason why so
many of the earth's organisms reproduce sexually. The recombination of genes
is essential for these organisms to be able to produce new traits which may
enable them to adapt to change in their environment (this includes factors
like climate change, competition, and predators).

"Laying workers" appears to me to be some sort of phenomenon caused by the
fact that workers are raised from the same eggs as queens and have some of
the same internal organs, such as ovaries. I doubt seriously that this is
"purposeful", any more than there is a "purpose" for nipples on male mammals. 

The whole thing is just one of those curious things about nature that tend
to point toward "unintelligent design" more than anything else. The more you
look at nature, the more you realize that not everything is put together in
the best way possible, not everything is there for a "good reason", that
there are a lot of really dumb mistakes.

pb

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