Hi:

I don't think that there is any basic disagreement here.  An appliance like
the apidictor has uses, both as a stand alone unit or as an input sensor to
a computer.  The computer offers a broader range of capability, but at the
cost of overall price, portability, etc. compared to the apidictor.

Like some others on this list, I'd like to know about behaviors in addition
to swarming - and unless the sound changes some time (days) before the
swarm emerges, knowing the colony is going to swarm isn't much help -
especially if that colony isn't one that you are standing beside (and even
then, about the best you can do is to try to catch the swarm).
Reprogramming a colony after the old queen has stopped laying is difficult
- and I know there are those who will disagree with this statement - but I
basically think its too late  at this stage, the disruption of the colony's
reproductive and other activities has already occurred.

Anyone who has worked bees for any time knows that colonies make a variety
of sounds, and the sounds that I can hear are associated with a variety of
behaviors in addition to swarming.  One might ask how a sick colony sounds,
or one with tracheal or varroa mites or hive beetles?  We know that bees
produce sounds in a range below human hearing.  And based on acoustic work
that I did with grasshoppers years ago, resonance frequencies and other
sound production may extend well beyond the most obvious sounds (primary
frequencies of the original source sound) and certainly beyond human hearing.

Therefore, some of us would like to be able to better look at the entire
range of sounds and see if we can decipher more of its meanings with
respect to the hive.  A computer can help.

For those who suggested software thanks.  Some software I knew about, some
I didn't.  And yes, some of it is a lot more expensive if bought new out of
the box with a license, rather than at a garage sale.

Posting software or pointing to a web site is a big help.  Saying its an
easy task doesn't help much - providing code or software does.  We know
that the task is easy if you understand, for example, how wav files are
encoded.  Try looking them up - big job and not the information that most
software companies give away upon request.

Having someone point us at a way to open these files saves lots of time
digging through books, web sites, etc.  That's one of the good things about
a discussion group like this - lots of experts, some of whom are willing to
share their expertise in fields other than strictly beekeeping.


Cheers