Randy wrote:
>The question for the List is then, is the memory and learning of bees (or
>beekeepers) restricted to taking place in the brain only, or can there be
>some kind of somatic memory and learning? 

Given the complicated genetics of bees, I don't know if the Baldwin Effect can be considered, but it is interesting. 
From Wikipedia:

"In evolutionary biology, the Baldwin effect describes the effect of learned behavior on evolution. In brief, James Mark Baldwin suggested that an organism's ability to learn new behaviors (e.g. to acclimatise to a new stressor) will affect its reproductive success and will therefore have an effect on the genetic makeup of its species through natural selection. Though this process appears similar to Lamarckian evolution, Lamarck proposed that living things inherited their parents' acquired characteristics. The Baldwin effect has been independently proposed several times, and today it is generally recognized as part of the modern evolutionary synthesis."

Here, Richard Dawkins gives a nice summary of the effect:

https://richarddawkins.net/2015/04/darwin-day-2015-questions-6-how-does-learned-behavior-evolve-into-inherited-instinct/

As an aside, Dawkins' The Selfish Gene was one of my genetics textbooks in college, having been published in my freshman year, and has left a lasting impact on my view of Me, My Cells and I (with apologies to Billie Holiday and Joan Armatrading).

Bill
Claremont, NH

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