In answer to Dr Kevan's question about foraging distance... the best discussion I have seen on the subject is in Dave Roubik's recent book, Ecology and Natural In this book (pages 82 to about 122) Roubik points out that bees are central- place foragers with forager density nicely plotted against increasing distance from the nest. There are many factors, including short-term ones and those over the long term. If you wonder about foraging close to the nest, just set out a piece of comb and see how long it takes to become emptied! The problem is not a simple one because the further away from the nest you get, the more area there is available for foraging. So there must be a relationship between the forager density (high near nest) and foraging area (increasing away from nest) which shows the probability of foraging (area * density). This results in higher probability at some distance from the nest (not too close and not too distant). Its a nice problem to think about and a tougher one to resolve in the field. Check out the book (Cambridge, 1989). ================================================================== º Edward E. Southwick Department of Biology º º Phone 716-395-5743 State University of New York º º FAX 716-395-2416 Brockport, New York 14420 º º BITNET SOUTHWIK@BROCK1P U.S.A. º ==================================================================