Dee Lusby <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Take the years when spring is coming on fast and plants are
>starting to bloom, and you find then bees quickly chewing
>out frames of granulated honey to make room for expansion
>of broodnest, vs those years when spring is coming on slow
>and they are having to save and use every ounce of food
>they have.
Hi Dee,
Yes, this would probably be the appropriate explanation if ALL colonies in
a bee yard or in same micro habitat were exhibiting seasonal behavioral
characteristics that could be correlated to environmental conditions.
But, in a group of hives, << all things being equal >> with similar colony
strength etc, if some colonies exhibit chewing and others pulling, I
would think that the behavior is more associated with a trait rather than
environmental. But if all colonies are either pulling or chewing
according to flows and weather conditions, then I might think the behavior
is more associated with environmental influences. But it probably
wouldn’t explain the chewing out behavior seen in my colonies during the
fall, a time of abundance with the aster flow.
…A slow mode and a
>fast mode depending upon the time frame at hand, besides
>the amount of workers available, and strong hive vs weaker
>hive? LIke I said all animals do think and I think bees
>think more then many give them credit for.................
Division of labor and environmental conditions would certainly would
influence many colony functions. But what I am seeing <<’in my
colonies’>> is chewing out pupa as opposed to pulling pupa. I am seeing
chewing out behavior in colonies as small as single frame nucs, on up to
mature colonies.
I also give all honeybees an abundance of credit for the ability to think
things out. But when talking traits, ‘as smart as I know my bees are‘, I
would not expect them to be capable of thinking up a trait (to use another
example, theklytoky) if the bees do not carry the trait to some degree.
What I have learned from the little experience I have with breeding, is
that you cannot develop a trait, that is not already present in the
genetics to some degree.
Joe Waggle
Ecologicalbeekeeping.com
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries'
Feral Bee Project:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/
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