one possible explanation for "washboarding" behavior could be the scraping of resins, natural or synthetic, from surfaces such as painted hive surfaces for use in propolizing other parts of the hive...the only evidence for this interpretation i have seen is anecdotal, such as a.nachbaur's coincidental observation in a recent post (re:upward ventilation): "... they will glue it up with plant rosins when available. Some areas don't have any so road tar, grafting wax, any product with lin seed oil such as paints or sealers and even beeswax from exposed combs or foundations will do in a pinch." the other behavior you describe sounds like some form of scent release from the nasonov (top abdominal tip) gland usually associated with orientation functions, such as nest entrance marking. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]