What have you done today bee-related?

[Chrisbarlow]

I would like to ask, have Nigel and Derek ever been seen in the same room together? Are we sure they aren't the same person.

I dont think so although I have given a lecture in York

I'm sure you'd know

[Jim Norfolk]

Nigel I think the way most Physics works is the theory comes first then you design experiments to test the theory unlike Biology which mostly works the other way. You make a series of observations and then cook up a theory to explain them.

So what experiments would you conduct to test Derek's theory?

[Chrisbarlow]

had some webbing on hive straps that had broken due to mice/rats nibbling in the apiary. A friend mentioned using eyelets to fix them back together and this seems to have worked. When I get them strapping a colony up again. I will find out for sure.

[Jim Norfolk]

Wow 15 C today Nearly opened up to have look. But then I thought they have plenty of honey because I weighed the hives last week, and the bees are bringing in at least 3 colours of pollen, orange, yellow and dirty white. Why disturb them. So I contented myself with a good long sit by the hive just watching bees.

[NigelP]

MY nearest out apairy is now bursting with pollen, still struggling at home apiary for the golden dust.
Good to see all hives and nucs busy in the sun.

[Chrisbarlow]

That's great to hear Nigel, can I ask though, how did you insert the image?

[NigelP]

Chris It's hosted on a web server I rent for my website. All I do is place the url of the image inside those thingy's and it loads onto the page.

Jim, in reply to your question Biology is very much theory driven in that you think you know how something happens and design experiments to prove and also try to disproof your theories.
You cannot simply publish your theories without hard factual experimental evidence. Something it seems physicists can.

[Chrisbarlow]

Thanks Nigel, that explains it.

[derekm]

The experiments that verified the latent heat of evaporation, heat transfer etc. including the laws of thermodynamics were done long long ago. So unless you subscribe to biological exceptionalism, biological systems are bounded by the same theories which have already been verified by experiment. Honey bees dont have a "Get out of thermodynamics card ". Proving that honeybees expend at least 2.4MJ /kg in evaporating water seems somewhat pointlessly repetitious particularly since its a property of the water not the honey bees.


"Organisms are like nothing else in the natural world , not despite the laws of physics , but because of them "

D.M. Walsh 2015 Organism, Agency and Evolution

[NigelP]

Not even sure what point you are trying make here.....

However, your stater for ten is "How does the genetic profile of a colony of honey bees affect the rate of the collected nectar being concentrated.
For an additional 5 points "Describe how the weather influences this process"
No laws of thermodynamic are broken in either case.