In a message dated 15/10/99  12:29:36, you write:

<<
 Earlier this week we had a "cookout" near one of my hives.  We used three
 types of lighting; kerosene lanterns, "Coleman" lanterns, and electric
 fluorescent lights.  Halfway through he evening we realized that the
 fluorescent lights were attracting bees and moved those lanterns away from
 the group.

 Why did the bees gather only around that one kind of light?  Was it because
 it was cool and the others hot, or is it related to the wavelength of the
 light. >>


I recollect that van Praagh did a lot of work in the 70's and 80's on flight
rooms in the Netherlands, and had problems with illumination. Fluorescent
tubes were used, but these seemed to confuse the bees as they are flickering
at mains frequency, which we cannot perceive, but bees are able to see. The
problem was solved by arranging fluorescent tubes in banks of three, one
wired to each phase of a three phase supply, so that steady illumination was
achieved.

This may have some bearing on what you saw.

Regards

Matthew J Allan
Thornes of Windsor
England