Hello Tom and all,
 You came as close to the truth as we can come.

>
> Maybe the bee has a method of communicating with the world totally unknown
> to us and which may remain forever a closed book. We are perhaps in the same
> position vis a vis the bee, as we would be in the presence of an extra
> terrestrial.

The honeybee and its behaviour has always been a spark for mans
imagination
and study.We work hard to understand there behaviour with some natural
blinders on ,
as we seek the truth.We can only work with our plane of thought with all
of its biases
and prejudices.I enjoy the journey observing all of nature around me.My
honeybees bring
great wonder to me.To watch the variance in behaviour between hives and
blood lines ,
makes me feel very lacking in the true understanding of the honeybee.The
more I think I know,
the more questions I have.

  We are very lucky to have Apis Mellifera to study and talk about. Buts
its mans ego
that gets in the way of a more complete understanding in ones lifetime.
I enjoy to
read everyone's ideas and thoughts that are posted here.We have a
considerable amount of knowledge
 on this list.We all can learn, there is no cornner on the market of
understanding Apis Mellifera.
 Many parts make up the whole.
 Enjoy all of the questions that spring up in your head as you watch
your bees.
Also we should be very thankful of all of those researchers that are
spending
there lives trying to uncover some more truths about the Honeybee.We
have some great ones.

Best Regards
Roy Nettlebeck
 Tahuya River Apiaries